Milestone Reached for Our Own Buildings: Architectural Competitions for the Forum Recht Are Nearing

With the approval of funding now granted by the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Forum Recht Foundation has taken a key step toward realizing its own construction projects. 

Karlsruhe, 26. May 2026. The Forum Recht Foundation has reached an important milestone on the path to acquiring its own buildings: The Federal Ministry of Finance has approved the funding requests for the planned buildings in Karlsruhe and Leipzig. This fulfills the key prerequisite for preparing the architectural competitions and the subsequent construction.

„I am very pleased that we have taken this important step toward having our own buildings,“ says Bettina Limperg, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Forum Recht Foundation and President of the Federal Court of Justice. „After a long process of preparation, this approval sends a clear signal from the federal government and the Bundestag regarding the central importance of the law and the rule of law in our society.“

Dr Cord Brügmann, Director of the Forum Recht Foundation, adds: „The new Forum Recht, with its two locations, will play a prominent role as a venue for raising awareness of and educating the public about the law and the rule of law, as well as for fostering social debate and exchange on these topics.“

„We hope that the process of organizing international architectural competitions will now move forward swiftly so that concrete designs can soon be produced—designs that give compelling architectural expression to the idea of the rule of law and the foundation’s specific mission, and that will have an impact far beyond Karlsruhe and Leipzig,“ says Dr Stephan N. Barthelmess, deputy director of the Forum Recht Foundation, under whose leadership the building requirements plans were developed. „We would like to thank everyone who has supported us on this journey so far—especially the members of the German Bundestag and the participating ministries and institutions. I would also like to extend my special thanks to the Foundation team as well as our governing bodies, the Board of Trustees and the Foundation Advisory Board.“

The Forum Recht Foundation was established in 2019 by an act of the German Bundestag as a foundation under public law directly subordinate to the federal government. It is headquartered in Karlsruhe and has an additional location in Leipzig. The Forum Recht in Karlsruhe is to be built on the grounds of the Federal Court of Justice. In Leipzig, a location is planned at the central Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz; the goal there is to construct a shared building with the University of Leipzig’s School of Law. A total of 4,070 square meters of usable space is planned for the Karlsruhe location, and 4,330 square meters for Leipzig.

The Forum Recht Foundation is already developing and implementing a wide range of in-person and digital exhibition, event, and educational formats. It creates spaces and opportunities where people can discuss their experiences with the law and the rule of law—at its temporary locations in Karlsruhe and Leipzig, on the road throughout Germany, and online.