International cooperation

In December 2022, the fourth seminar between the supreme administrative courts of Germany and Poland was held in Leipzig. The judges engaged in intensive expert discussions on current challenges within the area of asylum and refugee law, COVID-19 protective measures before the administrative courts as well as on the question of whether and if so to what extent the assumption of a public office involves restrictions on private life. As usual at these seminars, the whole event was interpreted simultaneously. Every other year, seminars between the two Courts are held; over the last two years, they had to be postponed due to the pandemic.

With a delay of one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the third meeting of the Federal Administrative Court and the Curia of Hungary took place in Leipzig from 6 to 8 October 2021. Both courts share a relationship of friendly cooperation in the course of which judges of both courts meet every two years - alternately in Budapest and in Leipzig - for an exchange of experiences. Topics of this year’s expert discussions were the judicial handling of actions against infrastructure projects, the relationship of national constitutional courts with the European Court of Justice as well as issues relating to the law of administrative court procedure.

In July 2021, a delegation of the Federal Administrative Court visited the French Council of State. The French Council of State is at the same time the supreme administrative court and advisory body to the French Government. Seminars of the two courts take place every two years. The focus of this year’s seminar was on the comparative law exchange concerning four - in part highly recent - specialised topics: The participants dealt with the principle of oral presentation within administrative court proceedings, legal protection against regulations restricting freedom during the COVID-19 pandemic, mediation within administrative court proceedings as well as legal protection in connection with climate change ("climate change litigation"). For the retired president of the Federal Administrative Court, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Rennert, who intensively cultivated the German-French relations between the supreme administrative courts for years, it was also his farewell visit to the French partner court.

In September 2019, following the invitation by the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland, the third German-Polish seminar of the supreme administrative courts took place, this time in the Voivodship Administrative Court in Poznań. The presidents of the Higher Administrative Courts of Berlin-Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Saxony and Thuringia accompanied the four-person delegation of the Federal Administrative Court. On the Polish side, not only representatives from the Supreme Administrative Court attended the seminar but also the presidents of the Gliwice, Kraków, Poznań and Warsaw Voivodship Administrative Courts. Topics of the seminar were the extent and limits of judicial independence, current decisions in the area of environmental law as well as the digitisation of administrative court proceedings.

The Vice President of the Conseil d’État, Bruno Lasserre, and six further members of the French Council of State visited the Federal Administrative Court on the occasion of a joint seminar. It was the sixth meeting of this kind which takes place every two years, alternately in Paris and in Leipzig. These seminars are part of a friendly cooperation that also includes an exchange programme for judges and research associates. In addition, the two partner courts publish each other’s decisions on selected topics in law journals (so-called publications croisées).

In October 2018, a delegation of the Federal Administrative Court visited the Curia of Hungary – the country’s supreme court. It was the second visit of this kind. The participating judges discussed, amongst others, the scope of judicial control before the administrative courts in both countries, the resolution of conflicts of competence between courts as well as the new Hungarian code of administrative court procedure.

In September 2017, a delegation of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland visited the Federal Administrative Court. The visit was used to discuss current topics of administrative law and law of administrative court procedure. Seminars of the two courts take place every two years.

In April 2017, a delegation of the Federal Administrative Court visited the French Council of State. The French Council of State is at the same time the supreme administrative court and advisory body to the French Government. The participants shared thoughts on specialised topics of administrative law in presentations and discussions. More specifically, they addressed the law on foreign nationals and asylum law, temporary relief proceedings and the use of information technology in the judiciary. Seminars of the two courts take place every two years.

In June 2016, a delegation of the Curia of Hungary visited the Federal Administrative Court. The Curia is the supreme judicial authority for disputes of a non-constitutional nature. The participants engaged in professional exchange of views on four topics of administrative law.

In November 2015, a delegation of the Federal Administrative Court visited the Supreme Administrative Court in Warsaw for the first time. The visit aimed at discussing issues of administrative law and law of administrative court procedure. It also laid the foundation for future cooperation. The Courts agreed to meet again every two years and to organise an exchange programme for judges

In April 2015, a delegation of the French Council of State visited the Federal Administrative Court. The delegation was led by the Vice President of the Conseil d’État Jean-Marc Sauvé. The focus of the visit was on the comparative law exchange concerning four specialised topics: democratic legitimation and judicial review of acts of independent agencies, environmental appeals, freedom of religion and public participation in large-scale projects. Since 2009, seminars of this kind take place every two years alternately in Paris and Leipzig. They enable a collegial exchange on judicial procedures based on topics that are of equal interest on either side of the Rhine. President Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Rennert and his counterpart Jean-Marc Sauvé agreed to strengthen cooperation by launching a joint project: Important decisions by the courts and overview essays are translated and published in an academic journal in the respective other country. Partners in the project are Revue française de droit administratif and Neue Zeitschrift für Verwaltungsrecht.

At the end of September 2022, after a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a delegation of the Federal Administrative Court participated in the conference of the supreme administrative courts of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The expert discussions covered, inter alia, the topics climate and environmental protection, rights of freedom of information as well as current trends concerning multiple nationality.

In September 2018, a delegation of the Federal Administrative Court participated in the conference of the supreme administrative courts of Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The expert discussions covered, inter alia, the topic data protection as well as current issues relating to public service law.

In September 2016, members of the supreme administrative courts of Liechtenstein, Austria and Switzerland visited the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. The expert discussions covered, inter alia, the topic religion and school as well as current questions of asylum law.