The state justice ministers are demanding more money from the federal government for staffing and the digitization of the judiciary. The new Green NRW Minister of Justice Limbach sees a yardstick for the federal government here.
Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister of Justice Benjamin Limbach (Greens) calls on the federal government to make “significantly more money” available for the digitization of the judicial authorities. Finally, the federal government has promised a “digital pact”, said Limbach of the German Press Agency in Düsseldorf. “The federal government must be measured by that.”
Among other things, it is about the necessary co-financing of federal law requirements, such as the introduction of electronic legal transactions and electronic files in the states by the end of 2025, as well as other joint projects.
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) promised the federal states 200 million euros for projects to digitize their judicial authorities in the coming years and made a corresponding offer last week.
Limbach emphasized: “The federal government must make significantly more money available so that the federal states can finance IT equipment, IT development and IT personnel to meet the goals stipulated by federal law.” Other state justice ministers had previously criticized the federal government’s offer as insufficient.
In the last legislative period, the grand coalition had decided on a so-called pact for the rule of law. At that time, the federal government provided 220 million euros to create additional positions in the public prosecutor’s offices and in courts. The coalition agreement signed by the SPD, Greens and FDP in 2021 states: “We are consolidating the pact for the rule of law with the federal states and expanding it with a digital pact for the judiciary.”
Limbach also demanded that the financial support for the general staffing of the judiciary, which has to implement more and more requirements of federal legislation, must be continued. “It’s good that the talks between the federal and state governments are continuing, both to consolidate the pact for the rule of law and the digital pact.”
