Menu Schließen

Digital, immediate and swift: How to make the legal system accessible

Panel discussion with the Deutsche Anwaltverein in Berlin

Together with the Deutsche Anwaltverein e.V. (DAV) we invited to a discussion at the DAV-Haus Berlin on 17 October 2023. How can the access to the legal system in our society be made to just? Our guests, Monika Nöhre (Former president of the Kammergericht), Marco Klock (Founder of legal tech company rightmart), and Rebecca Richter (Specialist lawyer for media law and founder of the law firm Dunkel Richter in Berlin) discussed with the audience, moderated by lawyer Ulrich Schellenberg.

Foto. Vom Publikum aus sind vier Personen fotografiert die an einem langen Tisch mit Microfonen sitzen
Podiumsdiskussion in Berlin. v.l.n.r. Marco Klock, Monika Nöhre, Ulrich Schellenberg und Rebecca Richter (Foto: Andreas Burkhardt)

In her welcoming address, Dr Sylvia Runge, Managing Director of the DAV, emphasised: „We must address the role of lawyers, who can set the necessary course as a link between those seeking justice and the judiciary.“ Anyone who has experienced injustice can seek legal advice and representation. However, this often fails due to a lack of knowledge about their own rights. One reason for this could be the increased complexity of legal texts, another the structural hurdles in claiming them. The discussion showed that it is not only financial aspects that lead people to decide not to take legal action. According to Monika Nöhre, from the perspective of the legal profession, unpredictable judgements made by judges also pose a challenge to the question of whether or not a case has a good chance of being heard in court.

Rebecca Richter spoke about her self-perception as a young law firm that has set out to make the law more accessible and to take clients‘ expectations seriously. She represents clients in and out of court. She is also a member of the Deutsche Juristinnenbund. In her opinion, in addition to meeting on an equal footing and a transparent presentation of the legal process, there also needs to be a binding commitment towards more pro bono cases by lawyers.

Dr Stephan Nikolaus Barthelmess, Deputy Director of the Law Forum Foundation, also emphasised in his welcoming address: „We need to focus on the role that structural inequalities and social factors play in the decision to claim one’s own rights.“ One of the topics discussed was whether digital applications, i.e. legal tech solutions, could help to overcome barriers in the future. Marco Klock was able to report on this. Above all, he sees a discrepancy between the digitalisation of proceedings at German courts and the needs of the population, who are increasingly turning to private service providers as a result.

The report „Erforschung der Ursachen des Rückgangs der Eingangszahlen bei den Zivilgerichten“, which Monika Nöhre contributed to for the Federal Ministry of Justice in her former role as President of the Kammergericht in Berlin, came to a similar conclusion. The report examined the decline in the population’s litigation behaviour. According to the study, fewer and fewer cases have been brought before German civil courts over the last 20 years. Among other things, the research consortium came to the conclusion that „individual factors relating to the organisation of the judiciary would reduce the attractiveness of civil proceedings“ [1].

Foto. Aus dem Publikum heraus ist sitzend Monika Nöhre auf dem Podium fotografiert.
Monika Nöhre geht auf den Bericht des Forschungskonsortiums ein. Foto: Andreas Burkhardt

Could a change of perspective in the judiciary make a difference here? The active audience discussion provided various ideas and suggestions for solutions: For example, a rethink of how lawyers and judges see themselves as gatekeepers of the law could lead to more services and guidance for citizens and pragmatic solutions for everyday life. Openness towards multimedia innovations such as the digital conduct of negotiations or simple online counselling platforms were cited as examples.

Foto. Anwältin Rebecca Richter
Rebecca Richter. Foto: Andreas Burkhardt

Further considerations followed this direction: shouldn’t claiming one’s own rights actually be understood as part of basic civic care – and its financing facilitated through appropriate support programmes?

One important factor, which was also repeatedly emphasised in the discussion, is the lack of understanding of our legal system. „Law as such must become visible!“ emphasised Monika Nöhre in her closing remarks. „I would be delighted if there was more access to justice in our country (…). Law must have a face!“ she emphasised. And this is precisely where the mandate of the Stiftung Forum Recht comes in. Our task is to close (knowledge) gaps with our programmes and to make it easier for people to access our legal system and the legal basis for our coexistence. We provide regular information about our programmes here: Upcoming events | Stiftung Forum Recht (stiftung-forum-recht.de).

#LetsTalkAboutLaw

Recording

You’ve missed the event? Watch the recording in German here, kindly provided to us by the Deutsche Anwaltverein

Dive deeper

Research paper:

You can download the report „Erforschung der Ursachen des Rückgangs der Eingangszahlen bei den Zivilgerichten“ for free and only available in German at bmj.de.

About Deutscher Anwaltverein

The DAV is the voluntary association of German lawyers and brings together around 60,000 lawyers and notaries who are organised in 253 local lawyers‘ associations in Germany and abroad. It represents the interests of the German legal profession at national, European and international level. You can find out more at anwaltverein.de

Foto. Ein Mann und eine Frau stehen am Rednerpult. Man sieht die Hinterköpfe des Publikums und die Logos der Stiftung Forum Recht und des Deutschen Anwaltverein.
Die Gastgeber:innen des Abends Dr. Sylvia Runge (DAV) und Dr. Stephan N. Barthelmess (Stiftung Forum Recht). Foto: Andreas Burkhardt
de_DEGerman