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Study trip of a Russian delegation to constitutional courts in Germany

Published: October 10, 2016

In cooperation with the Russian Law Academy at the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation the IRZ organised a study visit on the topic “Statutory regulation of the working procedures of the Constitutional Courts of the Federal States of the Federal Republic of Germany” from 3rd to 6th October 2016 at the Constitutional Court of the Federal State of Berlin and of the Federal State of Brandenburg. The delegation consisted of the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Karelia, Svetlana Beniaminova, and three representatives of the Russian Law Academy at the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation: Oxana Shabarshova, Head of Unit International Relations, Vadim Vinogradov, Head of the Chair for Constitutional Law and International Law as well as Danil Rybin, Director of the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Law Academy at the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

At first the Russian guests visited the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection for expert talks. They were received by Ministerialrätin Alexandra Albrecht, Head of the International Legal Cooperation Division at the Federal Ministry of Justice, and Veronika Keller-Engels, IRZ Director. Then Claudia Eller-Funke, a speaker from the International Legal Cooperation Division at the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection presented the history, organisational structure and remit of the Ministry. Following her presentation, Public Prosecutor Johannes Gerds from the division for civil procedure and labour court procedure, gave an overview of the structure of the jurisdiction and the stages of appeal in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Afterwards the delegation was received at the Constitutional Court of the Federal State of Berlin by its Vice President, Dr. Robert Seegmüller, and two judges, Dr. Ulrich Last and Dr. Christian Quabeck. The programme of the expert exchange comprised procedural issues in the constitutional courts, the position and the tasks of the Constitutional Court of the Federal State of Berlin, issues regarding the scope of reviews carried out by the constitutional courts as well as the interaction between the Constitutional Courts of the Federal States and the Federal Constitutional Court.

These topics were discussed further during the visit to the Constitutional Court of the Federal State of Brandenburg. Its Managing Director Rena Schuncke, the Presiding Judge at the Regional Court and constitutional judge Andreas Jörg Dielitz and his colleague Thomas Jacob were pleased about the great interest shown by the Russian guests and the lively exchange of experiences. During the intense discussions the similarities and differences in the working procedures of the constitutional courts of both countries were identified in detail. 

Both parties regarded the expert talks as very enriching and would like to continue them in Russia next year. Both the Russian and the German side emphasized the importance of such an expert exchange between colleagues.