Justice Minister Hubig announces law against right-wing extremist lay judges

Hubig referred to the case of Thuringia, where the rule of law is being attacked by blocking the election of constitutional judges. "We see in Thuringia, for example, how our rule of law is exposed to attacks, for instance by the election of constitutional judges being blocked," she said. It must be ensured that judicial elections cannot be prevented by extremist parties.

Specifically, Hubig announced a proposed regulation for lay judge elections aimed at mitigating the consequences of possible blockades. "A proposed regulation would soon be presented for lay judge elections in order to mitigate the consequences of possible blockades," said the minister. She described right-wing extremism as "the greatest danger to our democracy" and emphasized that the rule of law must be strengthened for the confrontation with enemies of the Constitution and extremists.

Demand for a standard query to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Hubig is receiving support from the Federal Association of Volunteer Judges. Its Andreas Höhne said in an interview with MDR AKTUELL that extremists – "he did not want to further evaluate right and left there" – are calling on people to get themselves elected to the lay judge office. His association is aware of reports on the internet where people have posted: "Now I'm a lay judge, tell me what I am supposed to decide there."

Höhne emphasized that the political orientation of extremists often goes unnoticed because court deliberations are not public. The association has, according to its own statements, already held talks with the domestic intelligence authorities about introducing a standard query for lay judge applicants. The authorities have not rejected the proposal; the only question is that of feasibility.

Höhne demanded stricter reviews of applicants' loyalty to the Constitution even before the lay judge election. "If you want to carry a weapon, there is a standard query from the domestic intelligence authorities. You could do the same with applicants for the lay judge election," he said. This would ensure that candidates with an extremist background do not even get onto the suggestion lists in the first place.

Role of lay judges in the German judiciary

Lay judges are volunteer lay judges who decide on criminal and civil cases together with professional judges. They are elected at regular intervals by the municipalities, with the proposals usually coming from the population. Critics see the procedure as a potential entry point for politically motivated candidates who could be deliberately infiltrated into the judiciary.

The minister's initiative comes at a phase in which German security authorities are observing growing radicalization in parts of society. The federal government has repeatedly emphasized in recent months that the fight against right-wing extremism has the highest priority. With the planned law, the judiciary itself is now also to be better secured against infiltration.