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 anniversary of the law: Is this the end of the law?
- Nazi law used to block back-pay fight: http://www.aworldtowin.net/nazilaw.html
- 11 June 2007: ‘DEMOCRACIES USING HITLER DECREE TO FIGHT BASIC RIGHTS’:
http://www.wrp.org.uk/news/2225
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 successful: Simplified the result is that judges are now
allowed to give free legal advice. The Bockmann case is now a complaint
at the European Court of Human rights, filed 13. November 2002.
(No. 40901/02. A translation to French is available from Dr.
Kramer).
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:
Visitor No.
since 22. October 2003
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