From 13 to 17 July 2020, IRZ organised its fifth “Introduction to German law” seminar for Arabic-speaking refugees from a legal background. Over the five days of the seminar, the thirty participants learned about the basics of the German legal system. As well as graduate law students from Syria and Iraq, lawyers with professional experience and accreditation in their home countries also took part in the seminar. The speakers at the seminar were Uwe Stark, a judge at the Local Court of Siegen, Dr. Arnd Weishaupt, a judge at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf, and lawyer Jens Dieckmann.
The main topics discussed at the event were:
an introduction to state administration law
an introduction to the German system for protecting fundamental rights
an introduction to the German legal and court system
the basics of the right to residency and asylum in Germany
the basics of criminal law and criminal procedure law, with case examples
the basics of civil law and civil procedure law, with case examples
As well as lectures and discussions on the above topics, there was also a visit to the Regional Court of Bonn, including a court hearing, during the seminar. A representative from the Law Faculty at the University of Bonn also held talks with the participants and told them about opportunities for foreign students to study at the university.
The seminar concept
The aim of this event is for participants to learn about the structure of the German legal system and about German constitutional, criminal and civil law. The focus is on using case examples to shed light on German legal practice and to relate to the everyday experiences of refugees. Discussing case examples is an important part of the seminar concept, since these talks always lead to plenty of questions by interested participants. These animated exchanges encourage the integration of the refugees into German society and enhance their understanding of legal issues.
On 16 and 17 December 2019, the IRZ organised its fourth successive “Introduction to German law” seminar for Arabic-speaking law professionals and lawyers from Syria and Iraq. The aim of this series of events is for participants to learn about the structure of the German court system and about German criminal and civil law. The focus was on using illustrative case examples to shed light both on German legal practice and on the interplay between various judicial authorities, as well as on referring to the everyday experiences of the refugees and discussing these together. This not only led to animated exchanges and plenty of interesting questions, it also encourages the integration of refugees into German society and enhances their understanding of legal issues. The Syrian law professionals were frequently able to draw parallels between the German and Syrian or Iraqi legal systems.
The seminar was led by the experienced judges Uwe Stark, a judge at the Local Court of Siegen, and Dr. Arndt Weishaupt, a judge at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf.
Although there are limited prospects for refugees from a legal background to gain a foothold in the legal profession in Germany, the seminar provides them with the possibility of expanding on the knowledge gained in their home countries and address the similarities and differences between the two legal systems.
The seminar was financed by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV).
On 3 and 4 December 2019, the IRZ, together with the German Association of Judges, organised an international conference of the Memorandum Group of Associations of Judges on “International cooperation in civil and criminal affairs” at the Regional Court of Bonn.
The IRZ has supported the annual expert meetings of the Associations of Judges from Armenia, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland, Ukraine and Uzbekistan since 2011. The conference serves as a platform for the exchange of experiences between representatives of the judiciary from all these countries. It enables participants to forge stronger regional links and exchange experiences on similar problems or discuss current legal reforms.
This year’s conference focussed on the following topics:
Acceptance and enforcement of judgements
Extradition to other countries, including the European arrest warrant
International investigations into computer and internet crime
Thirteen representatives of the Associations of Judges in the Memorandum Group took part in this event. The German Association of Judges (DRB) was represented by its Chairman, Jens Gnisa. He opened the conference alongside the President of the Regional Court of Bonn, Dr. Stefan Weismann, and the Managing Director of the IRZ, Dr. Frauke Bachler.
The conference was also supported by five experts from Germany:
Dr. Jan Peter Teubel, Department I A 5 (Private International Law), German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection
Dr. Sebastian Trautmann, Head of Department III 5 (EU affairs and legal assistance to foreign countries in criminal cases), Ministry of Justice for the North Rhine-Westphalia region
Dr. Matthias Modrey, Senior Public Prosecutor, Prosecutor General’s office in Düsseldor
Markus Hartmann, Senior Public Prosecutor as Senior Head of Department, Head of the ZAC NRW (Cybercrime Centre)
Dr. Barbara Vogelsang, Senior Public Prosecutor, Public Prosecutor's Office in Münster
During the meeting, the German speakers and participants in the conference shed light on many important aspects of international cooperation in civil and criminal affairs, as well as on the associated challenges and potential for finding solutions. This ensured that, once again this year, the event achieved its objective of supporting international dialogue on the rule of law.
