Law on Legal Advice dated 1935

 

Law preventing abuse of legal advice (dated 13 December 1935)

 

 

Law preventing abuse of legal advice (dated 13 December 1935). The Reich’s Government has decreed the following law:

 

Article 1.

 

§ 1 (1)  The administration of third party legal affairs including legal advice and the collection of third party claims or abandoned claims for collection purposes can only be conducted – without differentiating between professional or free lance activities against or without payment – by persons who have been issued with a relevant permit by the competent authorities.

 

(2) The permit may only be issued if the applicant has the required reliability and personal suitability as well as sufficient knowledge and provided the requirement cannot be covered by a sufficient number of legal advisers.

 

§ 2. The provision of scientifically based assessments and the take over of activities as an ombudsman do not require the permit in accordance with § 1.

 

§ 3. Not subject to this law are:

 

1. Legal advice and legal supervision provided by the authorities of the NSDAP (Nazi Party) and its associations, public law bodies as well as affiliated NSDAP associations within the scope of their competency.

 

2. The professional activities of notaries and other persons in an official appointment as well as lawyers, legal administrative counsels and patent lawyers;

 

3. The professional activities of trial agents (§ 157 sub 3 of the Code of Civil proceedings);

 

4. The administration of legal affairs with regard to the care system by the associations as referred to in § 48 sub 2 of the Law on Care Procedures (State Publication 1934 I, p. 1113) and § 83 sub 2 of the Army Care Law (State publication 1935 I p. 21) as well as by persons who, based on these regulations, have been registered as attorney or counsel in matters of care.;

 

5. The administration of legal matters with regard to patents, designs and trade marks within the boundaries as referred to §§ 56 and 60 of the Law on Patent Lawyers dated 28 September 1933 (State publication I p. 669);

 

6. The activities as receiver-manager, liquidator or estate administrator as well as the activities of other persons appointed by the authorities for such tasks;

 

7. The activities by corporate societies, corporate assessment associations and their ruling bodies as well as corporate administration and similar corporate agencies, in so far as they support, within the scope of their tasks, their members, their affiliated corporate institutions or the members or institutions of the corporations belonging to them.

 

§ 4. (1) The permit in accordance with § 1 does not cover the authority to provide professional assistance as a business in the case of

 

1. Tax matters

 

2. Monopoly cases

 

3. Currency matters and matters related to goods traffic dated 4 September 1934 (State publication 1 p. 816),

 

4. Other matters dealt with by the State finance authorities.

 

(2)  With regard to the matters referred to in sub 1 nos 1, 2 and 4, the regulations  of the State Levy Regulations, the Tax Adjustment Law, the Law governing the registration of tax advisers dated 6 May 1933 (State publication I p. 257) and article 2 § 2 of this law, apply. The support in currency matters as a business is governed separately (Article 5 sub 1 of this law).

 

(3) The support authority based on the areas referred to in sub 1 do not entitle to the legal administration in other matters.

 

§ 5. The regulations of this law do not oppose to

 

1. Businessmen or other commercial entrepreneurs dealing with legal affairs on behalf of customers with whom they have a direct commercial relationship;

 

2. Chartered accountants as well as official auditors, with whom they have a professional relationship, taking over the legal advice provided it is directly linked with the tasks of the accountant or auditor;

 

3. Estate administrators, caretakers and similar persons directly linked with the administration, taking care of legal affairs.

 

§ 6. (1) The regulations of this law also do not oppose to

 

1. Clerks administering the legal affairs of their masters;

 

 

2. Clerks, employed by people of authorities as referred to in §§ 1, 3 and 5, administering legal affairs within the scope of their employment.

 

(2) The legal format of an employee’s position is not to be misused to bypass the obligatory permit.

 

§ 7.  A permit is not required when associations or agencies on an occupational or similar basis provide their members, within the scope of their duties, with assistance and support in legal matters. These activities, however, may be prohibited.

 

§ 8. The person who, without being in the possession of a required permit as referred to in this article, administers third party legal affairs as a business or infringes a prohibition as mentioned in § 7 sentence 2, will be subject to a fine.

 

Article 2. (Amendment of the State Levy Decree/ Support in tax matters and similar as a business)

 

Article 3. (Amendment of § 35 sub 3 Trade Regulations)

 

Article 4. (Exclusion of damage entitlements)

 

Article 5. Authorisation to issue implementation rules)

 

Article 6. (Effectiveness and transitional regulations)

 

Taken from the first decree governing the implementation of the Legal Advice Law (dated 13 December 1935, State publication I page 1481)

 

§ 5. Jews will not be issued with permit.

 

§ 11. (2) The request is to be filed with the District Court covering the district where the administration of legal affairs is to take place. Apart from the documentation as referred to in § 8, the request is to be accompanied by a handwritten CV as well as documents showing nationality and descent of the requesting parties.

 

We refrain from providing further explanations.

 

Present definition of the law: http://wkeim.bplaced.net/files/de_Law_on_legal_advice_1935_Present_Definition.htm

 

 

Source: Original German text: http://www.rechtsberatungsgesetz.info/gesetzgebung/originalfassung.html

 

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