Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann has promised the federal states 200 million euros for projects to digitize their judicial authorities in the coming years. Further funds – for example for additional positions – are not part of the offer that the FDP politician presented to the justice ministers of the federal states on Friday. “Only a constitutional state that does not lag behind technically will enjoy a high level of acceptance among the citizens in the long term,” says Buschmann’s letter to his colleagues in the countries, which is available to the German Press Agency.

Digitization instead of jobs in the judicial authorities

Buschmann emphasized that despite the fact that the overall situation has changed dramatically as a result of the economic consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and that the crisis has marked it. The Federal Ministry of Justice will launch a “Pact for the Digital Rule of Law” in order to implement digitization projects together with the federal states and thus relieve the judicial authorities of the federal states. According to Buschmann, 50 million euros are to be made available in the 2023 budget year, subject to the approval of the budget politicians. Overall, it is intended that the federal government will make up to 200 million euros available for these projects in the coming years.

The countries had probably hoped for a little more money, also to finance positions in the judicial authorities, where the workload is particularly high. However, apart from the federal judiciary, the judiciary is a matter for the federal states. From the point of view of the federal government, the funds provided for additional jobs via the Pact for the Rule of Law 1.0 were intended as “start-up financing”.

Criticism from the federal states

The Bavarian Minister of Justice, Georg Eisenreich (CSU), told the dpa on Friday after the conversation with Buschmann: “The offer is inadequate in every respect.” The sum, which should be spread over several years, is not appropriate. The path via project financing also leaves open whether this will lead to any relief for the federal states. Instead, he expects “an appropriate contribution from the federal government to the costs caused by federal laws,” said Eisenreich.

Hamburg’s Senator for Justice Anna Gallina (Greens) explained that the proposal by the Federal Ministry of Justice “does not even begin to reflect the major challenges facing the judiciary in principle and with regard to digitization”. Lower Saxony’s Justice Minister Barbara Havliza (CDU) also called the federal offer insufficient. Gallina and Havliza pointed out that the traffic light coalition had agreed to consolidate the pact for the rule of law. The first discussion on the subject must now be followed by others.

Savings by shortening the replacement prison sentence

Buschmann had recently pointed out that the federal states would save EUR 60 million per year by implementing his plan to shorten the so-called substitute imprisonment. If you cannot or do not want to pay a fine, you have to go to prison instead. Buschmann does not want to shake this principle. According to his draft, a day of imprisonment should no longer correspond to one but two so-called daily rates. The time behind bars would thus be shorter, which would reduce the costs in the penal system.

In the last legislative period, the grand coalition had decided on a so-called pact for the rule of law. At that time, the federal government had made 220 million euros available to create additional positions in the public prosecutor’s offices and in courts. The coalition agreement signed by the SPD, Greens and FDP in 2021 states: “We are consolidating the pact for the rule of law with the federal states and expanding it with a digital pact for the judiciary.”

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According to the Federal Ministry of Justice, the federal states had created around 2,700 new positions for judges and public prosecutors between 2017 and 2021 and filled almost 2,500 new positions. The goal of 2000 new jobs agreed between the federal and state governments was thus exceeded. During the same period, the federal government had increased the number of positions at the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office by 71 and created 24 new positions for two new senates at the Federal Court of Justice.

(bme)