What is Courts of Germany?
{{GovGermany}} The judiciary, that is, the judges and '''Courts of Germany''' are independent. They are not controlled by the Federal Government or the State Governments. There are laws which say what sort of cases the courts can hear and pass judgment on, and what type of punishment a court can give. But no law or minister can say that a person is guilty. Only the courts can do this. == Protection == Courts give protection to ordinary people from bad governments, they are also protected from bad governments themselves. ===Protection of people by the courts=== Germany has had free courts for longer than it has been a democracy, although under the Nazis many judges ignored the law and did what the Nazi Party wanted. This is why they were tried at the [[Nuremberg Military Tribunals#Trials|Nuremberg Judges Trial]] Germany is a ''[[Rechtsstaat]]''. That means it is a government based on law. All citizens are guaranteed to be equal, and government decisions can be challenged in court. No law or minister can say that a person, or group of people is guilty. ===Protection of courts from the government=== Federal law sets out the structure of the judiciary. Running courts is up to the [[States of Germany|Länder]]. The Länder (''States of Germany'') are run the lower levels of the court system; only the highest courts are paid for by the federal government. This federal-Land split means that the Federation (that is, the Federal Government) can make sure laws are enforced equally throughout the country, because it says what courts must be set up. The Länder administer the courts, and this stops the federal government from being able to order the courts to do things, or to appoint the judges. This helps keep the courts independent. == Legal system == Germany has a system of [[Roman law]]. This is different from the United States and England which use the [[common law]]. In a [[common law]] system courts rely on ''precedents'' (what was decided in similar cases earlier) . In Germany, courts look to a comprehensive syst