Germany · Courts
Court structure of Germany
Every tier of the judiciary, what it hears, and where an appeal goes next.
The hierarchy, top to bottom
- Constitutional — Bundesverfassungsgericht
- Karlsruhe; constitutional complaints and abstract review.
- Supreme — Bundesgerichtshof
- Highest ordinary court for civil and criminal law.
- Appellate — Oberlandesgerichte
- Regional higher courts.
- First instance — Landgerichte and Amtsgerichte
- Value and gravity determine which court hears the case.
- Specialised — Federal administrative, labour, social and finance courts
- Five separate supreme court branches in total.
Every court in the hierarchy
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