Link of the month - EJIL: Talk!

This month the European Journal of International Law entered the blogosphere with its own blog, and (so far) it is as well thought through as its journal articles.
Under the title "EJIL:Talk!" Dapo Akande, a well known scholar in the field of international criminal law and international dispute settlement, posts a few articles about the 60th anniversary about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and an impressive (and sad) human rights recapture of the year 2008.

Link of the month - Juristisches Internetprojekt Saarbruecken

This link is not new but still good, it is actually one of the oldest and most reliable web sites in the German legal research arena - the Juristisches Internetprojekt Saarbruecken. It started out in 1993 as a project in Professor Herberger's Legal Information Science class, and has since developed to a platform with a variety of tabs to different international and European legal sources. Especially to have links to decisions from the European Courts, the French and the German courts all on one site makes it very handy. Only disadvantage, the web site is mainly in German with some content in French and English.

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.

New Regulations regarding German Federal Central Register

Today (October 15, 2008) the Federal Cabinet decided to renew the administrative regulations regarding the Federal law of Central Register(Bundeszentralregister). Currently to receive notifications about entries in the register one has to apply in writing and paper form. In the future this shall be possible via a secure internet system.

The new act shall become law on January 1, 2009. The Federal Assembly (Bundesrat) needs to approve.

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.