| Agency Name: | Federal Ministry of Justice |
| Nativename: | Bundesministerium der Justiz (BMJ) |
| Formed: | 1 January 1877 as Reichsjustizamt |
| Preceding: | Reich Ministry of Justice |
| Jurisdiction: | Government of Germany |
| Headquarters: | Mohrenstraße 37 10117 Berlin |
| Employees: | 789[1] |
| Budget: | €957 million (2021)[2] |
| Minister1 Name: | Marco Buschmann |
| Minister1 Pfo: | Federal Minister of Justice |
| Chief1 Name: | Benjamin Strasser |
| Chief1 Position: | Parliamentary Secretary of State |
| Chief3 Name: | Gerd Billen |
| Chief3 Position: | Permanent Secretary of State |
| Chief4 Name: | Stefanie Hubig |
| Chief4 Position: | Permanent Secretary of State |
| Website: | http://www.bmj.bund.de |
The Federal Ministry of Justice (German: Bundesministerium der Justiz, pronounced as /de/), abbreviated BMJ, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Under the German federal system, individual States are most responsible for the administration of justice and the application of penalties. The Federal Ministry of Justice devotes itself to creating and changing law in the classic core areas related to Constitutional law. The Ministry also analyzes the legality and constitutionality of laws prepared by other ministries. The German Federal Court of Justice, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (GPTO), and the German Patent Court all fall under its scope, including affairs on court administration. The ministry is officially located in Berlin.[3]
The BMJ was founded on 1 January 1877 as the Imperial Justice Office (Reichsjustizamt). After Germany became a republic in 1919, it was renamed Reichsministerium der Justiz (Imperial ministry of Justice). The ministry was refounded as the Bundesministerium der Justiz in 1949. In several laws predating 1949, the ministry and the minister are however referred to as Reichsministerium der Justiz and Reichsminister der Justiz, respectively. This has gradually been replaced with the new name and title when laws have been amended, most recently in 2010.[4]
In Germany's federal system, the administration of justice, the judiciary and law enforcement are primarily the responsibility of the Länder. The central task of the Federation in the field of justice is to safeguard and develop the rule of law. Legislative activity corresponds to this objective. It includes the preparation of new laws and the preparation and amendment or repeal of laws in the classical areas of law, namely civil law, criminal law, commercial and company law, copyright and industrial property law, court constitutional and procedural law for the individual jurisdictions (with the exception of labour and social courts), as well as service and professional law for judges, public prosecutors, lawyers and notaries. In addition, the Ministry is responsible for the tasks arising from the establishment of German unity in the areas of criminal, administrative and professional rehabilitation and "open property issues". The Ministry also examines the legal form of all draft laws and regulations prepared by other ministries in order to ensure that the legislation is compatible with the Basic Law.
The Ministry's portfolio includes the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe with two criminal divisions in Leipzig, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe with an office in Leipzig, the Federal Office of Justice with the Federal Central Register in Bonn, the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, the Federal Fiscal Court in Munich, the Federal Patent Court in Munich and the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) in Munich with offices in Berlin and Jena.
Political Party:
| Name (Born-Died) | Portrait | Party | Term of Office | Chancellor (Cabinet) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Dehler (1897–1967) | FDP | 20 September 1949 | 20 October 1953 | Adenauer (I) | ||
| 2 | Fritz Neumayer (1884–1973) | FDP | 20 October 1953 | 16 October 1956 | Adenauer (II) | ||
| 3 | Hans-Joachim von Merkatz (1905–1982) | DP | 16 October 1956 | 29 October 1957 | |||
| 4 | Fritz Schäffer (1888–1967) | CSU | 29 October 1957 | 14 November 1961 | Adenauer (III) | ||
| 5 | Wolfgang Stammberger (1920–1982) | FDP | 14 November 1961 | 19 November 1962 | Adenauer (IV) | ||
| 6 | Ewald Bucher (1914–1991) | FDP | 14 December 1962 | 27 March 1965 | Adenauer (V) Erhard (I) | ||
| 7 | Karl Weber (1898–1985) | CDU | 1 April 1965 | 26 October 1965 | Erhard (I) | ||
| 8 | Richard Jaeger (1913–1998) | CSU | 26 October 1965 | 30 November 1966 | Erhard (II) | ||
| 9 | Gustav Heinemann (1899–1976) | SPD | 1 December 1966 | 26 March 1969 | Kiesinger (I) | ||
| 10 | Horst Ehmke (1927–2017) | SPD | 26 March 1969 | 21 October 1969 | Kiesinger (I) | ||
| 11 | Gerhard Jahn (1927–1998) | SPD | 22 October 1969 | 7 May 1974 | Brandt (I • II) | ||
| 12 | Hans-Jochen Vogel (1926–2020) | SPD | 16 May 1974 | 22 January 1981 | Schmidt (I • II • III) | ||
| 13 | Jürgen Schmude (b. 1936) | SPD | 22 January 1981 | 1 October 1982 | Schmidt (III) | ||
| 14 | Hans A. Engelhard (1934–2008) | FDP | 4 October 1982 | 18 January 1991 | Kohl (I • II • III) | ||
| 15 | Klaus Kinkel (1936–2019) | No party; FDP (from 1991) | 18 January 1991 | 18 May 1992 | Kohl (IV) | ||
| 16 | Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (b. 1951) | FDP | 18 May 1992 | 17 January 1996 | Kohl (IV • V) | ||
| 17 | Edzard Schmidt-Jortzig (b. 1941) | FDP | 17 January 1996 | 26 October 1998 | Kohl (V) | ||
| 18 | Herta Däubler-Gmelin (b. 1943) | 75px | SPD | 27 October 1998 | 22 October 2002 | Schröder (I) | |
| 19 | Brigitte Zypries (b. 1953) | SPD | 22 October 2002 | 28 October 2009 | Schröder (II) Merkel (I) | ||
| 20 | Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (b. 1951) | FDP | 28 October 2009 | 17 December 2013 | Merkel (II) | ||
| 21 | Heiko Maas (b. 1966) | SPD | 17 December 2013 | 14 March 2018 | Merkel (III) | ||
| 22 | Katarina Barley (b. 1968) | SPD | 14 March 2018 | 27 June 2019 | Merkel (IV) | ||
| 23 | Christine Lambrecht (b. 1965) | SPD | 27 June 2019 | 8 December 2021 | Merkel (IV) | ||
| 24 | Marco Buschmann (b. 1977) | FDP | 8 December 2021 | Incumbent | Scholz (I) | ||