City council proposes honorary judges for administrative court
At its meeting today, the City Council confirmed the list of nominations for the election of honorary judges to the Administrative Court. A total of 34 men and women have been nominated for the honorary office. The five-year term of office of the current honorary judges ends on 31 December 2018, and the City of Chemnitz is responsible for drawing up a list of candidates for this honorary position. Until 23 March 2018, citizens were able to apply to the city administration for the term of office from 2019 to 2023. This opportunity was taken up by 191 people.
The list of candidates confirmed by the city council will now be submitted to the President of the Administrative Court of Chemnitz. An election committee at the Administrative Court, consisting of the President of the Administrative Court, an administrative official appointed by the state government and seven confidential counsellors, will then select 17 honorary judges for the new term of office from the nominations submitted by the city.
Honorary judges decide public disputes together with professional judges. The administrative court in Chemnitz deals in particular with disputes between citizens and the public administration, for example in matters of building law, municipal tax law or police law. The honorary judge participates in the hearing and the judgement with the same rights as a professional judge. Anyone wishing to be elected for this role at the administrative courts must fulfil certain requirements. Among other things, an honorary judge must be German. They must be over 25 years of age and reside within the court district.