The Deutscher Richterbund (DRB), Germany’s official association of judges, is urging the federal government to tighten rules governing instructions from state justice ministries to prosecutors. The group says current law allows ministries to intervene in individual criminal proceedings without an effective mechanism to review or expose such directions.
The issue has gained urgency within the judiciary after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won an election in Saxony-Anhalt and appeared likely to lead a state government there. The DRB warned that an extremist party in government could use prosecutorial directives to influence investigations, including cases involving right-wing extremists.
“The top priority now is to prevent the misuse of public prosecutors’ offices in Germany for partisan political purposes,” DRB executive director Sven Rebehn said in a statement to DW. He said a political tradition of restraint currently limits the use of directives, but that convention could be abandoned because it does not provide legal protection.
German prosecutors are part of the executive branch, unlike in many other countries, and operate under the authority of state or federal ministries. Ministries can issue instructions in individual cases or determine how prosecutors interpret laws and conduct investigations. Supporters say this structure ensures democratic accountability and parliamentary oversight; critics say it creates an avenue for political influence.
Berlin state prosecutor Margarete Koppers told DW that politically abusing legal rules puts the rule of law at risk. She and the DRB support removing ministries’ power to issue case-specific instructions. The source text also points to concerns raised by developments in Poland and Hungary, where governments led by authoritarian-populist parties intervened in judicial institutions.
Not all legal experts favor making prosecutors fully independent. Hamburg criminal lawyer Gül Pinar said reform was needed because directives are not documented, leaving those affected by proceedings unaware of possible government involvement. She proposed recording instructions so lawyers could assess their legality, while arguing that democratic principles support retaining some government authority over prosecutors.
The Federal Justice Ministry told Legal Tribune Online that existing safeguards are adequate: ministries may not issue unlawful directives, and prosecutors may not follow them. The question has also arisen at the European level. In 2019, the European Court of Justice warned that political influence could affect Germany’s state prosecutors when issuing European arrest warrants, although German law requires judges, rather than prosecutors, to issue them.