Germany’s legal system is anchored by a constitutional belief that states have the right to oversee their own justice systems, so the country’s lower courts – regardless of whether civil or criminal – are always controlled by state governments. However, the German constitution tasks the federal government with ensuring the law is applied uniformly around the country, so appeals and constitutional courts are controlled by federal bureaucrats. Cases are always heard in German. Unlike in Anglo-Saxon courts, German judges are not appointed or selected from a pool of experienced lawyers. Instead, after graduation, German law students must decide whether they want to be lawyers or judges and then enter the appropriate career track. Would-be judges apply for a job with whatever court they would like to serve under and are vetted just like in any other government job. They then work their way from clerk to the bench.

German law is relatively young and is based on what was supposed to be a temporary constitution drawn up shortly after the second world war. The basis is social equality for all. As such, if you choose to sue in a civil court and lose, you’ll be responsible for the defendant’s legal bills. However, judges will often force a settlement, requiring both sides to pay their own lawyers. Judges rely heavily on independent experts during civil trials, which can stretch them out over months as experts review the case. Germans are not very litigious and it’s rare that a lawyer would even recommend filing a suit – compensation for things such as wrongful death or injury have already been established by law so exorbitant judgements are unheard of.

Germany’s criminal justice system is one of the most forgiving and makes several attempts at reform before throwing in the towel and locking up criminals for decades. Inmates who don’t pose a flight risk are even granted several weeks of vacation from prison per year. Although you’re likely to be given several chances, brushes with the law are never good for foreigners since each one subjects you to deportation.