Right-Wing Judges in Germany

AfD judges, prosecutors and jurors: a danger to democracy?

by Joachim Wagner

Description

— How politics are increasingly influencing the rule of law in Germany — Systematic failures of democracy to protect itself — Based on numerous interviews with different members of Germany's legal system Ever since the right-wing party “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) secured representation in the Bundestag and in all state parliaments, Germany’s judiciary is facing a new challenge for which it is unprepared: AfD-affiliated judges and public prosecutors are attracting attention through right-wing biased decisions and investigations. Other members of the legal system cause further damage by ignoring the right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic background of crimes and thus punishing offenders too leniently or not at all. Both the judiciary and policy-makers have so far underestimated the new danger from the right. As a result protection against the appointment of right-wing legal professionals has been insufficient. Joachim Wagner systematically analyses numerous examples from German courts in recent years. He calls on the democratic judiciary to remember the principles of a well-fortified democracy.

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Author Biography

Dr Joachim Wagner is a lawyer turned journalist. After four years as assistant professor for criminal law, criminal procedure law and criminology at the Free University of Berlin, he took over the legal policy department at NDR radio in 1979. From 1987 to 2008 he was head and presenter of the magazine Panorama, head of the ARD studio in London and finally deputy editor-in-chief at the ARD capital studio. Since then he has been working as a freelance journalist and author.

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Franz Steiner Verlag / Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag

Franz Steiner Verlag / Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag

Academic publishing house (ancient history of economics, history of science/medicine, geography, musicology, philosophy of law). Berliner Wissenschaft-Verlag is an imprint.

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Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag
  • Publication Date September 2022
  • Orginal LanguageGerman
  • ISBN/Identifier 9783830551775
  • FormatPaperback
  • Primary Price 33 EUR
  • ReadershipProfessional and Scholarly
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Original Language TitleRechte Lieder. AfD-Richter, -Staatsanwalte und Schöffen: eine Gefahr für den Rechtsstaat?
  • Edition2nd revised and enlarged edition
  • Copyright Year2022

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