German administrative law was hitherto predominantly the law of the individual Länder. Presently, in the course of the National Socialist renewal of law, it is in the process of unification. This has already been done for the constitution of municipalities (law of 30 June 1935: Deutsche Gemeindeordnung).
In the course of the expansion of the central administration of the Reich, new ministries and higher offices were created. The division between officials of the Reich and those of the Länder also fell apart with the law on the new constitution of the Reich of January 30, 1934.
The new law concerning officials is governed by the law on public officials (Beamtengesetz) of January 26, 1937, which establishes the racist and substantive premises for the category of officials and defines loyalty to the Führer and the Reich as their highest duty. The public employment relationship is established through the delivery of a special appointment deed. To ensure the fulfillment of official duties and holds) the discipline into the civil servant body is directed disciplinary Reich Regulation (Reichsdienststrafordnung) of 26 January 1937. For the officials of the executive police it applies the law June 24, 1937 (Polizeibeamtengesetz: with implementing regulation of 26 July 1937).
The law on industries and trades (Gewerbeordnung) of 21 June 1869 (text of 26 July 1900) which established, with few exceptions, the principle of freedom of industry, has been profoundly changed. The whole of the German economy is undergoing a process of reform that leads it towards a corporative type organization, which has been provisionally regulated for the agricultural class and for the crafts; for the other classes it is largely already governed by a law of February 27, 1934.
Those who carry out their activity in the fields of printing, literature, radio, theater, cinema, music or the visual arts are gathered in seven chambers, unified in turn by the Reich Chamber of Culture (Reichskulturkammergesetz of 22 September 1933, with the supplementary law of May 15, 1934 and various regulations). The law of the press, for which the law on the press of 7 May 1874 is still formally in force, was profoundly changed by the law on editors (Schriftleitergesetz) of 4 October 1933. The new law on theater of 15 May 1934 has the purpose to “legally transform the theater into an organ destined for a public function”.
The Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, of February 6, 1938), the Citizen’s Tax Act (Bürgersteuergesetz), the Corporate Tax Act (Körperschaftssteuergesetz), the Property Tax Act (Vermögenssteuergesetz), the Inheritance Tax Act and the Capital Movement Tax Act (Kapitalverkehrssteuergesetz), all of October 16, 1934, but in part variously amended, the Document Tax Act of May 5, 1936 (Urkundensteuergesetz) and again the laws relating to the tax on trades (Gewerbesteuergesetz) andland tax (Grundsteuergesetz) and the introductory law to those on royal taxes, of 1 December 1936.
The judicial review of administrative acts, precisely through the work of special administrative courts, advocated above all by R. Gneist, was introduced in 1863 in Baden and therefore in most of the German states. The 1919 constitution of the Reich imposed on the Länder the obligation to introduce such courts.
For the administration of the Reich there are also special administrative courts of the Reich, e.g., the section of complaints and appeals for annulment as well as the grand senate of the Reichspatentamt, the Court of Auditors, the Reich office of superintendence for private insurance. and the Reich Economic Court (law of February 25, 1938); in addition, for some administrative relations of the Länder there are Reich courts, such as the Reich office for insurance and the federal office for certain affairs relating to social security (Bundesamt für das Heimatwesen), above the courts of the Länder. A Reich administrative court with general jurisdiction has not yet been established.
Appeals to the administrative tribunal in the individual Länder are permitted for certain groups of administrative acts (exhaustively enumerated), in some, for example, in Bavaria and Luxembourg; in others, to a larger extent, that is, on the basis of general clauses: so in Württemberg and earlier in the Hanseatic cities. In Prussia, the same principle applies in general, but administrative courts have general jurisdiction for the challenge of police orders. The procedure has similarities with the civil process, as the legitimacy of the administrative act is examined in relation to the specific case in point. On the contrary, the appropriateness of the provision is not subject to judicial review; this review does not take place every time it is a question of “free evaluation” by administrative authorities.
The administrative jurisdiction in Prussia offers courts of first and second instance for establishing the facts and a third instance for matters of law. Administrative courts of first instance are: in the countryside district (Landskreis) the administrative district court (Kreisverwaltungsgericht, formerly the district committee) and in the city district the city administrative court (formerly the city committee). The appeal is addressed to the district administrative court (Bezirksverwaltungsgericht, former district committee). Revision Court is the supreme administrative court (Oberverwaltungsgericht) in Berlin. The law of 1 August 1883 on jurisdiction still applies (Zuständigkeitsordnung). A special procedure is provided for complaints against police provisions (§ 45 et seq. Of the Law on Police Administration of 1 June 1931 and Law of 15 December 1933)
Similarly configured is the procedure in Bavaria, Saxony, Baden and Hesse. In the other Länder the organization of the same is very varied; Württemberg, Brunswick, Bremen, Lübeck and others have only one administrative court, which can only be used after a complete experiment of the administrative process. In most Länder administrative jurisdiction is divided into two and even three instances.
