auf Deutsch

German "Law on Legal Advice" of 13. December 1935

The Law on Legal Advice of 13. December 1935 is a result of the Nuremberg race laws. Implementing regulations ensured that Jewish lawyers and judges could no longer be active because of their ''race''. In order to prevent that they give free advice, lawyers got a monopoly on legal advice. Therefore Jews where fired from the lawyers chamber and were not allowed to assist suffering comrades before court. The same happened to lawyers critical to the Nazi regime.

After the second world war the allies declared Hitlers dictatorial Nazi government illegal, but forgot to remove the Nazi laws he gave. The implementing regulations of the Law on Legal Advice were waived 1945, but the Nazi law remained. The law was changed since, but the monopoly of the lawyers still exists. The German constitutional court did not find the law unconstitutional.

Unfortunately there is - to my knowledge - no literature in English on the subject and nearly no translations (apart from translation of:  “Der lange Atem eines Nazi-Gesetzes“) on the subject. Therefore I used Babelfish to translate some articles. Unfortunately the translations turned out to be awful and nearly unreadable and I had to correct them. Is there somebody who is interested to update the translating? Do you know about any literature in English? Please do not hesitate to contact me: walter.keim@gmail.com.

Although the translations are perhaps difficult to understand, I hope this collection can give you an idea:

• Excellent translation of the German article: Fight against the legal advice law ("Kampf gegen das Rechtsberatungsgesetz").
• Translation of German article: The Long Arm of the (Nazi) Law (“Der lange Atem eines Nazi-Gesetzes“, Sueddeutsche Zeitung)", 14 June 2003. This case is now a complaint at the European Court of Human rights, filed 13. November 2002.
• Translation of extract from: Kramer, D., Administration Abuses Law of legal Advice ("Behörden missbrauchen das Rechtsberatergesetz").
• Updated Babelfish translation of this German article: Nazi law and no end ("Nazi-Gesetz und kein Ende") from Anwalts Magazin Nr. 13/2003 (lawyers magazine).
• Updated Babelfish translation of this German article: Legal Advice Law of 1935 - Instrument of Disciplining ("Rechtsberatungsgesetz von 1935 - Instrument der Disziplinierung Verfassungsbeschwerde gegen die Pönalisierung bürgergesellschaftlichen Engagements").
• Legal Advisers ("Rechtsbeistände") have a total monopoly.
• JuraWiki.de informs about the Law on Legal advice. Germany is the only country in the world where it is forbidden to altruistically give free legal advice. ("Die Bundesrepublik ist – sogar weltweit – der einzige Staat, in dem altruistisches Handeln im Bereich der Rechtsberatung verboten ist (vgl. Ulrich Everling, Gutachten C zum 58. Deutschen Juristentag, München 1990, S. C 69 ff, C 91)."
• Lawyers sued TV reporting on legal questions and giving legal advice.
• Watchdog documents additional violations of Human Rights of the German legal system.
• Description of German legal system: Law Firms and Multinational Partnerships
• EU Commissioner for Competition Mario Monti examines the "Economic impact of regulation in the field of liberal professions in different Member States": Monopoly is good business for the providers of services. Conference 28. October 2003. Letter of 27. February 2004
• The law on legal advice is only for Germany. Therefore the worldwide Internet is used for legal advice:  http://www.RECHTSBERATUNG.tk .Thank you to the inhabitants of Tokelau an island in the Pacific :-).
• 13. December 2003: 68 anniversery of the law: Is this the end of the law?

PS:  In German only: The Law of Legal Advice is challenged by a constitutional complaint of 6. April 2000. But it was 24. July 2004 only partly successfull: Simplified the result is that judges are now allowed to give free legal advice..

Copy to: German Ministry of Justice (27. October 2003), Parliamentary Parties Federal Parliament (27. October 2003), OHCHR-UNOG G/SO 215/51 GERM ES.

Appendix:

• How the German State of Hessen deals with an upsurge of Nazi-Activities, The 'Wolfsangel' Affair
  

Visitor No. since 22. October 2003

[Human Right Violations in Germany]  [ Freedom of Information]    [Patients Rights in Europe]    [Petitions]    [Back to Homepage]