Germany’s Federal Convention to elect new President

On Wednesday, June 30th, the German Federal Assembly is going to elect a new President. The election comes after the previous President, Horst Koehler, unexpectedly resigned in late May. President Koehler was very popular among German citizens, but had received growing criticism from the reigning conservative government for his remarks about the involvement of the German armed forces in Afghanistan and the status and prestige of politicians. In a climate of unjustified criticism and plain backstabbing he did what he felt was the only thing he could do, resign. That left everyone stunned (including Chancellor Merkel) and presidential candidates had to be found, as according to Art. 54 (4) the Basic Law (commonly referred to as the German Constitution) the new President has to be elected within 30 days after the President leaves office.

The three candidates on the slate are Christian Wulff, Joachim Gauck and Luc Jochimsen. Merkel's governing coalition presented Christian Wulff who is currently minister president of the state of Lower Saxony, as its candidate. Wulff is one of the rather plain and unimpressive career politicians who nevertheless managed to get ahead in party politics (maybe because he is so unimpressive). That he was nominated by the CDU, one of the governing parties, is seen as a strategic move by Chancellor Merkel as she is well aware, that Wulff not only disagrees with her in many areas but more importantly will do anything to discredit her. If he gets elected however he will be “out of the way” and can’t cause further trouble.

His main opponent is Joachim Gauck, a pastor from the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), who was once the first Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Archives, and is widely favored by the public as well as the opposition. To nominate Gauck was a surprising move by the Socialdemocratic Party as well as the Greens. While he is a well known human rights activist, he described himself as a “liberal conservative” and would have wanted to be the candidate of the CDU.

The third candidate is Luc Jochimsen. Before her retirement in 2002 she was an accomplished journalist and documentary director. Since then she became an outspoken proponent of the GDR and declared that it was not “a state of injustice”. Jochimsen never lived in the GDR and why she believes she can voice such an opinion is a miracle (not only to me).

The German people have no say in Wednesday's vote; the federal president will be elected by a federal assembly, which includes 1,244 lawmakers. Merkel's governing coalition has a slim majority in the convention and usually the members are expected to vote with the party that selected them for participation, but a number of high ranking personalities suggested that no one should be “forced” to vote according to party lines. It is very likely though, that everyone will vote as they are told and Wulff will be elected in the first round.

Link of the month - Facts about Germany!

While looking for information about the legal billing in Germany I came across this interesting website and thought it makes an informative link of the month. It is called "Facts about Germany" and offers a variety of information in several languages from Arabic to Ukrainian.

Private Limited Companies Act in Germany reformed

Since May 2006 the federal legislator had been working hard to modernise the Law Governing Private Limited Companies and to Combat Abuses (AMPrLCCA). After going the way all bills go on the Committee on Legal Affairs of the German Federal Parliament in January 2008 conducted a public hearing of experts concerning the reform of private limited companies. Further steps were taken and the Act entered into force on November 1st 2008.

More information about the Act is available in German and a law journal article by Matthias Casper in English.

German Minister of Justice wants full equality for gay couples

On Wednesday, September 24, the German Minister of Justice, Brigitte Zypries, outlined in a speech in front of the parliament the governments plan to continue the process to fully equalize hetero- and homosexual relationships. Since the Law on Relationships (Lebenspartnerschaftsgestz) was enacted in 2001 a huge step has been done into the right direction, she said, but there are still areas that need improvement .

Zypries continued, that a modern society has to accept people from all paths of life, and that Germany in the international community has one of the more advanced laws.

Currently the Ministry of Justice is researching the possibilities to allow the adoption of children by couples who are not married in the traditional way.

Heads roll in German Bank Scandal

Heads are rolling in the wake of the scandal surrounding the transfer of €300 million ($426 million) by KfW to Lehman Brothers on the day the financial institutions collapsed.

On Thursday, September 18, the German Economics Minister Michael Glos, announced the suspension of two managing directors, Detlef Leinberger and Peter Fleischer, as well as the head of the bank's risk-management department.

KfW is a German government-owned development bank, based in Frankfurt. It name comes from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, meaning Reconstruction Credit Institute, and it was formed after World War II as part of the Marshall Plan. The bank is well known for lending money to small and med-sized businesses - not, to failing Wall Street firms. Business leaders as well as German politicians sit on the administrative board.

New Legal Services Act in Force in Germany

On 1 July 2008, the Legal Services Act (Rechtsberatungsgesetz - RDG) came into force in the framework of a fundamental reform. This new law replaced the Law on Legal Counseling (RBerG), and, on the basis of a new act on reform of legal counseling, the Law on Legal Counseling ceased to have effect on that same day. The declared goal of the Legal Services Act is to protect those seeking legal recourse whilst encouraging civic engagement in the field of legal counseling through liberalization.

Chancellor Merkel named most powerful woman

I know, I know - I read it too. German chancellor Angela Merkel was named the most powerful woman in the world. Obviously no one asked me for my opinion, as I would have placed here somewhere between Michelle Bachelet and Christine Poon. Still think she should open her mouth and voice her opinion, and say what's right and just.
But maybe that tells us something that they chose a woman who is admired for her nice outfit at the Wagner Festival and who is finally liked by French President Nicolas Sarkozy (remember - the one who was drunk a G8 summit speech).
Now I have to think about my choice ...

Why does Germany's Chancellor Merkel not stand-up against Putin?

I've had it! Everywhere I read that the German chancellor Angela Merkel stands-up against Vladimir Putin in the Georgia crisis, but honestly, I don't see it.

Germany traditionally has close ties to Russia, and although they gotten a bit slippery with Schroeder on Gazprom's payroll, they are still excellent. Because of those good relations the countries of Europe trust that, "Germany is the one country that can warn Russia," as James Sherr, director of the Russia and Eurasia Program of the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, points out. "Russia does listen to what Germany says. If Germany can make clear statements about the consequences facing Russia over Georgia and whatever else it might decide to do, it will have an impact on Russia." But does Merkel deliver on that?

No. So far Merkel has done everything to avoid being a mediator between Russia and Georgia. Although this might be understandable, it shows, that all the times before, when she talked to Putin over Kosovo, failings in the Russian presidential elections, and human rights, it was nothing but lip service. Looking at Merkels upbringing this does not surprise me.

Angela Merkel was born in Hamburg and moved with her family to Templin in Eastern Germany, where her father was pastor in a Lutheran church. Interestingly the family was always able to travel freely to Western Germany, she was able to attend university and they had other privileges that were unusual for Families who were active churchgoers (which a pastors family is). According to Gerd Langguth, author of a book about Angela Merkel, the family's ability to travel freely from East to West Germany, as well as their possession of two automobiles, leads to the conclusion that Merkel's father had a 'sympathetic' relationship with the communist regime, since such freedom and perquisites for a Christian pastor and his family would have been otherwise impossible in East Germany.

This is the same regime, that for decades suppressed individual freedom, and human rights, incarcerated people for their faith and did not allow those, who stood up for their beliefs to get a higher education. Angela Merkel never had any problems during the times of the GDR and I guess, she still has to learn to stand up for what's good and right for country and people.

Now is the time!

Skeletons in Berlin

The European Parliament is still in summer recess (until August 24th), in Beijing it's either China or the US winning, and Russia and Georgia are still at war, BUT, skeletons were found in Berlin.

Today archaeologists announced that in a dig they started in the spring of 2007 about 2000 skeletons were discovered in what appears to be a medieval cemetery. The site is in the center of Berlin, around the Petrikirche, and the graveyard dates back to the the year 1230 AD, the year the church was built.

The majority of the skeletons are of children, a sign of their high mortality rate in the Middle Ages.

Georgia into the NATO?

The German chancellor, Dr. Angela Merkel, is vehemently supporting a membership of Georgia in the NATO and urges Russia to get its troops out of the region. But the Russian troops are not budging, and that makes you wonder if they don't care what's going to happen next. Will Europe act in any way? Will Georgia be Russia's Iraq? What will the US do?

Bi-Yearly German Jurists Forum to Suggest Changes to Corporate Law

The German corporation law is heading into a new direction, at least if this years meeting of the Deutsche Juristentag (German Jurists Forums) gets its way. The section of corporate law has worked for the last years on a modernisation and globalization of German corporate law. So far the German law does not make any distinction between corporations who are quoted on the common stock market, and those who are not. All companies are rather treated as if they were traded on the market. This is not the case in the EU law and therefor leads to discrepancies.
This years German Jurists Forum will take place from September 23 to 26 in Erfurt/Thuringia.

German Constitutional Court Overturns Smoking Ban

In a not so surprising move the highest court of Germany today decided, that the rules to ban smoking in bars are unconstitutional. Under the current regulations restaurants and bars are obliged to open up separate rooms for smokers. This however was a huge disadvantage for small one room bars, as their customers weren't allowed to smoke at all.
The states now have until 2009 to redraw the rules, and remove the ban and allow smoking or totally ban smoking.

German Waters Contribute to Green Revolution

The recent changes to the German Renewable Energy Law (EEG) have sparked a green revolution off the northern coast. The EEG sets fixed rates of 15 cents per kilowatt hour (compared to 9 cents before the change) and this rate increase make an investment more interesting. For now the government envisions thousands of wind turbines in the waters with construction beginning in August. Der Spiegel has the complete article.