Law of Germany

It became common law (Gemeines Recht) in large parts of the German-speaking world and prevailed far into the 19th century.As the Holy Roman Empire was composed of countless minor territorial entities, the laws varied very much, according to local traditions and religions.The socialist–communist East Germany tried to install new laws strongly influenced by communist and socialist ideology.A fairly recent development is the influence of European law which aims to harmonize laws in the various states of the European Union, so that many legal developments are taken out of the hand of the federal government and are decided in Brussels instead, where Germany has its own influence on the process along with the other members.The newer theory qualifies these regulations as private law, because though the parents are superior, they are not part of the state nor acting on behalf of any.As usual in western democracies, the three powers are separated: the executive is taken care of by the government, the judicative by the courts and judges, and the legislative is managed by the federal and state parliaments.Here, the various parts of the state can dispute about the extent of their authority, but it is also the place to appeal to when a citizen feels that he is being deprived of his civil rights.Sentences run the gamut from fines to life imprisonment, which is usually open to appeal after 15 or more years for constitutional reasons.Extremely dangerous persons can be turned over for psychiatric treatment or have to stay in prison as long as necessary—which can mean for the rest of their lives (Sicherungsverwahrung)—in addition to their punishment.In contrast, whenever a state agency exercises official power, private law is not to be applied.Civil law (Bürgerliches Recht) determines the relationships among persons and/or legal entities, i.e. those who do not fall into a special category (like merchants or employees).Because of this, most of the rules in the BGB are only supplied in case that the partners of a contract did not make an agreement on that special point themselves.However, in the last few years there has been a tendency towards more regulation, especially between a professional and a consumer, declaring such contracts that place an undue burden on one party, to be invalid.For instance, if someone buys a newspaper at a newsstand without saying one single word to the seller, all the three contracts which are mentioned above are fulfilled by conclusive demeanor.They present facts and evidence for their version of the case of their own accord and without the help of the judge, who then makes his judgement independently.[5]: 7 However the principle of natural justice has been applied in instances where the formal interpretation of law leads to injustice such as the prosecution of GDR officials, or abortion.