International Cooperation

With a delay of one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the third meeting of members of the Federal Administrative Court and a delegation of the Curia of Hungary took place in Leipzig from 6 to 8 October 2021. Both courts share a relationship of friendly cooperation in the course of which judges of both courts meet every other year - alternately in Budapest and in Leipzig - for an exchange of experiences. Topics of this year’s expert discussions were the judicial handling of actions against infrastructure projects, the relationship of national constitutional courts with the European Court of Justice as well as questions relating to the law of administrative court procedure.

In July 2021 a delegation from the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) visited the French Council of State. The French Council of State is at the same time the supreme administrative court of France and advisory body of the French Government. Meetings of the two courts take place every other year. The focus of this year’s meeting was on the comparative law exchange concerning four - in part highly recent - specialised topics: The participants dealt with the oral presentation principle (Mündlichkeitspinzip) within administrative proceedings, legal protection against regulations restricting freedom during the COVID-19 pandemic, mediation within administrative proceedings as well as legal protection in connection with climate change (“climate actions” (“Klimaklagen”)). For the retired President of the Federal Administrative Court Prof. Dr. Rennert, who over the years intensively cultivated the German-French relations between the supreme administrative courts, it was likewise his farewell visit to the French partner court.

Following the invitation by the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland, the third German-Polish meeting of the supreme administrative courts took place, this time in the Voivodship Administrative Court in Poznań in September 2019. The presidents of the Higher Administrative Courts of Berlin-Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Saxony and Thuringia accompanied the four-person delegation from the Federal Administrative Court. On the Polish side, not only the representatives from the Supreme Administrative Court attended the meeting but also the presidents of the Gliwice, Kraków, Poznań and Warsaw Voivodship Administrative Courts. Discussions in the seminar focussed on the extent and the limits of the judicial independence, current decisions in the area of environmental law as well as on the digitisation of administrative court proceedings.

The Vice President of the Conseil d’État, Bruno Lasserre, and six further members of the French Council of State visited the Federal Administrative Court on the occasion of a joint working meeting. It was the sixth meeting of this kind which takes place every two years, alternately in Paris and in Leipzig. These meetings are part of a friendly cooperation relationship that also includes regularly working visits of judges and research associates. In addition, the two partner courts publish each other’s decisions on selected topics in law journals (so-called "publications croisées").

In October 2018, a delegation from the Federal Administrative Court visited the Curia of Hungary – the country’s supreme judicial authority. It was the second meeting of this kind. The participating judges discussed, amongst others, the scope of judicial control of administrative action in both countries, the resolution of conflicts of competence between jurisdictions as well as the new Hungarian code of administrative court procedure.

A delegation from the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland visited the Federal Administrative Court in September 2017. The visit was used to discuss topical issues within administrative law and administrative procedure law. Work meetings between the two courts are organised every two years.

A delegation from the Federal Administrative Court visited the French Conseil d’État in April 2017. The Conseil d’État is supreme administrative court and advisory body to the French government at the same time. The two sides shared thoughts on issues of administrative law in talks and discussions. Specifically they addressed the laws on foreign nationals and asylum seekers, summary proceedings and the use of information technology in the judiciary. Work meetings between the two courts are organised every two years.

A delegation from the Curia of Hungary visited the Federal Administrative Court in June 2016. The Curia is the supreme judicial authority for disputes of a non-constitutional nature. The two sides discussed four topical issues from within administrative law.

A delegation from the Federal Administrative Court visited the Supreme Administrative Court in Warsaw for the first time in November 2015. The visit was used to discuss issues of administrative law and administrative procedure law. It also laid the foundation for future collaboration. The Courts agreed to meet again every two years and to organise working visits for judges.

A delegation from the French Council of State visited the Federal Administrative Court in April 2015. The delegation was led by Conseil d’État Vice President Jean-Marc Sauvé.Discussions of the different legal systems in four specialist topics dominated the visit: democratic legitimisation and court oversight of independent agencies, judicial remedies in environmental law, freedom of religion and public participation in major projects.Work meetings of this kind have been held alternately in Paris and Leipzig since 2009. They enable collegial discussion of judicial procedures in topics that are of equal interest on either side of the Rhine.President Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Rennert and his counterpart Jean-Marc Sauvé agreed to strengthen cooperation by launching a joint project: Important decisions by the Courts and summary essays will be translated and published in an academic journal in the respective other country. Partners in the project are Revue française de droit administratif and Neue Zeitschrift für Verwaltungsrecht.

In September 2018, a delegation from the Federal Administrative Court participated in the conference of the supreme administrative courts of Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Discussions focussed on topics such as data protection as well as on current issues relating to the law on civil servants.

In September 2016 members of the supreme administrative courts of Liechtenstein, Austria and Switzerland visited the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. The discussions covered the topic religion and schools as well as questions of asylum law.