Germany's justice minister moves to keep extremists off lay judge benches
Selection panels would have to check registers and public social media profiles if doubts arise. People sentenced to more than 90 daily fines would be barred from serving as lay judges.
Archive image · Photo: Olaf Kosinsky / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped and resized)
German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig, a Social Democrat, wants to make it harder for extremists to serve as lay judges. She told the weekly Welt am Sonntag she would present a bill reforming the Judiciary Act next week. Lay judges "must stand with both feet on the ground of the Basic Law," Hubig said.
If there are doubts about an applicant's loyalty to the constitution, the lay judge selection committee would be required to look into them. It could request information from the federal central criminal register or review public social media profiles. Hubig said routine checks with the domestic intelligence service were not necessary. Anyone sentenced for an intentional crime to more than 90 daily fines or to a prison term would be barred.
Lists of nominees would remain open to public inspection, and anyone could lodge an objection. In German criminal trials, lay judges help decide guilt and sentencing, and their votes generally carry the same weight as those of professional judges.