Germany

As compared with the English court system and even that of France, the system found in Germany places great emphasis on courts of special jurisdiction. Thus, alongside the ordinary courts (Ordentliche Gerichte) there exist a variety of specialist courts, each having its own separate appeal structure, culminating in a court of last resort. These courts are: revenue or finance courts (Finanzgerichte); administrative courts (Verwaltungsgerichte); labour courts (Arbeitsgerichte); and social security courts (Sozialgerichte). The ordinary courts handle the bulk of the legal work in Germany and comprise the largest hierarchy. A brief overview of the courts found in this system follows.

Amtsgericht (local court)

There are 718 local courts throughout Germany. They have jurisdiction in civil disputes where the amount involved does not exceed approximately .3000. However, regardless of the sum in question, the local court will also deal with landlord and tenant disputes and various family matters. Providing the amount involved is more than .500, appeal lies to the district court (Landgericht). The local court also has jurisdiction to handle cases involving minor criminal offences.

Landgericht (district court)

The district court has jurisdiction in all civil litigation involving amounts over .3000 and also deals with the more serious criminal offences. As stated above, the district court hears appeals in civil and criminal matters from the local court. Cases are heard before a court consisting of three judges. However, if the litigation is between merchants, the court sits as a commercial court in which the presiding judge is the only legally qualified member, the other two judges being experienced businessmen or women.

Oberlandesgericht (appeal court)

The court of appeal is mainly concerned with hearing civil and criminal appeals from the district court. Except in the limited circumstances where leave is granted for a further appeal to the Bundesgerichtshof (see below), the decision of the court of appeal is final. The court of appeal also acts as a court of first instance for the hearing of the most serious criminal offences, such as treason. The courts just described are the courts of the Lander. Above these in the hierarchy are the federal courts. These comprise the various federal courts of appeal for courts exercising ordinary and special jurisdiction and the federal constitutional court.

The bundesgerichtshof (bgh; federal court of appeal)

The BGH is the final court of appeal from courts exercising ordinary jurisdiction. Sitting at Karlsruhe, it hears appeals from the court of appeal but only if that court has given its consent. Such consent will normally be forthcoming only in those cases involving a novel and important point of law or where the decision of the lower court has deviated from a previous ruling of the BGH. Appeals in civil cases normally concern disputes where the sum involved exceeds .20 000.

SPECIALIST FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEAL

As mentioned above, alongside the ordinary courts, there exist a number of specialist courts, each with their own appeal structure, at the apex of which is a federal court of appeal. At the same level as the BGH, therefore, are also to be found the Bundesarbeitsgericht (federal labour court), the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (federal administrative court), the Bundessozialgericht

(federal social court) and the Bundesfinanzhof (federal tax court).

THE BUNDESVERFASSUNGSGERICHT (BVERFG; THE FEDERAL

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT)

The German constitution (Grundgesetz) provides for an independent court to hear cases of a constitutional nature. Thus, the BverfG decides disputes between the Federation and the Lander or between different Lander. It also resolves questions concerning the relationship between the federal parliament (Bundestag), the Landers’ representative body (Bundesrat), the federal government, the federal President and certain other institutions having a constitutional role.

Felony crimes

Felony crimes are serious offenses punishable by a heavy sentence. The punishment is usually imprisonment, but in certain murder cases, the punishment could be death.

In early English law a felony was a heinous act that canceled the perpetrator's feudal rights and forfeited his lands and goods to the king, thus depriving his prospective heirs of their inheritance. The accused might be tried by an appeal of felony, i.e., personal combat with his accuser, the losing party to be adjudged a felon. The appeal of felony was gradually replaced by rational modes of trial and was altogether abolished in England in 1819. In addition to the forfeiture of his property, the convicted felon usually suffered death, long imprisonment, or banishment. Death was an especially common English penalty in the 18th and the early 19th cent. To the list of common-law felonies – including murder, rape, theft, arson, and suicide – many others were added by statute. With the abolition of forfeitures in England in 1870 the felony acquired essentially its modern character.

Felony is used in various senses in the United States. In federal law, any crime punishable by death or more than one year's imprisonment is a felony. This definition is followed in some states; in others the common-law definition is retained, or else statutes specifically label certain crimes as felonies. Other possible consequences of committing a felony are loss of the rights of citizenship, deportation if the felon is an alien, and liability to a more severe sentence for successive offenses. Felonies are usually tried by jury, and in some states the accused must first have been indicted by a grand jury.

If you are convicted of a felony you will lose many of your civil rights. You will not be eligible to vote and you will not be eligible to run for public office. Some jobs will require certain bonding or insurance coverage before you can obtain the job. Many insurance companies will refuse to bond convicted felons and, therefore, even though you are not barred by law from certain jobs, you may find it difficult to obtain the job because of insurance or other requirements.