Current collaboration with the Constitutional Council

Details
Published: May 18, 2021
Dr. Lars Brocker, President of the Constitutional Court and Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate, during his lecture
Dr. Lars Brocker, President of the Constitutional Court and Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate, during his lecture
Kazakhstan

In cooperation with the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, IRZ has organised two very successful online seminars, bringing together representatives of the Constitutional Council, the Supreme Court, the Public Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice for Kazakhstan.

Online seminar on constitutional complaints

The first seminar on “constitutional complaints” was held on 28 April 2021 with the participation of the German Federal Constitutional Court. Kairat Mami, Chairman of the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, talked in his opening speech about the constitutional controls that have been introduced recently by the Constitutional Council. He also emphasised the importance of the exchange of experiences on “constitutional complaints” since the citizens of Kazakhstan can only submit a constitutional complaint via ordinary courts at present.

IRZ expert Prof. Dr. Gabrielle Britz, a judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court, talked about the legal requirements, provisions for admissibility and adoption procedure for constitutional complaints in Germany. She also outlined how judgements are enforced. Her lecture went on to cover the review of laws in the context of “Normenkontrollverfahren” (judicial review proceedings on the constitutionality of laws).

Online seminar on the administrative process

At the second event, held on 30 April 2021, Dr. Lars Brocker, President of the Constitutional Court and Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate, and Dr. Sabine Wabnitz, Presiding Judge at the Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate, explained the administrative procedure (administrative court proceedings) and their significance for the rule of law. They gave lectures on the following topics:

  • The significance of administrative jurisdiction in the democratic state governed by the rule of law
  • An overview of administrative jurisdiction in Germany (history and structure)
  • The powers and local jurisdiction of administrative courts (issues of differentiation)
  • Procedural principles in the administrative procedure (particularly principle of investigation)
  • Participants in court proceedings
  • Types of complaint (particularly legal and liability challenges)
  • Description of court proceedings and appeal proceedings
  • The enforcement of administrative court judgements against the administration

The Kazakh partners showed a great deal of interest. After each lecture, the participants were given the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the issues. Dr. Brocker and Dr. Wabnitz both have many years of expertise and took the time to consider all the questions and to answer them in detail.

In August, IRZ has been invited by the Constitutional Council to take part in an international symposium on constitutional law.