Organisation and Functions
In order to fulfill its functions, which are explained below, the Federal Court of Justice of Germany is subdivided in twenty-five senates:
Twelve of them are the civil panels (Zivilsenate), five additional ones are the criminal panels (Strafsenate) and the eight remaining ones are special panels.
The general function of the Federal Court of Justice is to save the uniformity of the jurisdiction on the one side, and to do law-development on the other side. So usually it just reconsiders the legal assessment of a case as a court of last resort. To that effect the following legal-sections can be differentiated in the area of responsibility of the Federal Court of Justice:
In the civil law it takes action by reconsidering decrees of the regional courts (Landgericht) and of the regional appeal courts (Oberlandesgericht). In some special cases they also reconsider first-instance decrees of the local courts (Amtsgericht) and the regional courts. Here it can decide that an application for revision is improper —then the application gets discarded— or that it is valid – then it has to decide about the case.
In the criminal law it has to decide about applications for revision against first-instance decrees of the regional courts (e. g. Murder-delicts) and of the regional appeal courts (for example in state security delicts). Here it has to decide whether an application is blatantly reasonless or whether it is blatantly reasonable in support of the defendant. In both of these cases it can decide without a main trial. In any other case, it has to decide about the legal remedy after a main trial.
Finally it decides about the so-called “Vorlagesachen” (approximately: submission cases): If a regional appeal court plans to differ from a decision of another regional appeal court or from one of the Federal Court of Justice, it has to inform the Federal Court of Justice about that, which has to decide finally about this case. This is to save the homogeneity of the jurisdiction.
Since 2000, the judgments of the Federal Court of Justice have been published on the official court website.
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