4.
|
The
political Nature of the Laws against Defamation
|
4.1.
|
The
political Factor
|
4.1.1.
|
Political
meddling has been a
disease of German judiciaries since at least the pre-Bismark days. This
tradition still holds today at all levels. A judiciary in the local
court in Recklinghausen, for example, was a politician, until recently, holding
about 15 political or commercial offices. The president of the District
Court in Stuttgart is a member of the supervisory board of a commercial
foundation, which makes it its business to recruit its very own own
judiciaries. At the top of the tree, 3 Judges of the FCC,
all card carrying members of political parties, including the president,
gave political speeches in 2009 to party gatherings. In one of his most
recent public utterings, in a newspaper interview, Prof. Dr. Papier,
FCC President, spoke out against the plebiscite as an instrument of
democracy. (He could, of course, be tasked in his official capacity to
make a judicial ruling on matters associated with plebiscites.That
bothers nobody in Germany, least of all, apparently, Prof. Papier
himself). While he is busying himself with politics, the FCC is falling
apart, as the statistics in Fig. 3.4.2 demonstrate. In Great Britain and
many other countries these people would face instant dismissal for
their political activities. The British "Guide to Judicial Conduct"[10], Para
3.3, reads:
"A
specific
application of that principle is that a judge must forego any kind of
political activity and on appointment sever all ties with political
parties. An appearance of continuing ties such as might occur by
attendance at political gatherings, political fundraising events
or through contribution to apolitical party, should be avoided. "
Even though Germany does not
have such clauses regulating political
activities, one would hope that judiciaries would have
the right instincts for such things and a sense of propriety. The fact
they they do not, reflects on the extremely poor quality of very many of
Germany's judiciaries.
|
4.1.2
|
The interdependency of the
judicative, legislative and executive in Germany is a fact often denied
by representatives of these three elements of state, but is formally
demonstrated by the party quota selection basis for judiciaries in
Germany, at the very least. The resulting networks are breeding grounds
for corruption and
malfeasance, which are known collectively as the the "Swamp" in
colloquial German.
|
4.2.
|
Defamation
as a political Crime
|
4.2.1.
|
Germany
has a lot of reasons for maintaining laws against defamation and none
of
these are good. "Defamation", for example, is a good way of dealing
with
political adversaries. It is quite easy to provoke them and then
interpret what they say, in reply, as defamation. The profiles of the
cases
of Claus Plantiko and Helmut Palmer[1] have the appearance of such
systematic campaigns. Taking Claus Plantiko, the dissident attorney,
the Cologne Chamber of Attorneys described him in 2002 as a "Querulant"
and and ordered him to visit a named psychiatrist, at his own expense,
to
determine his fitness to continue in his profession. Fearing the
"chumminess" between experts and their tasking agencies, as well as the
poor work quality[4] of the experts themselves, Plantiko refused to
comply. Immediately afterwards, a train of convictions[1] for
defamation
followed. Such convictions have the effect of discrediting a person and
would certainly have helped the Cologne Chamber of Attorneys in
their efforts to brand him with psychiatric disorders.
|
4.2.2.
|
The case of Helmut Palmer[1]
shows largely the same pattern, but includes another interesting
aspect, para 188 of the Criminal Code which prescribes extra penalties
for the defamation of "important" personalities. The European Court of
Human
Rights forbade this type of discrimination in its Judgment [5](Application no.
9815/82) of
08.07.86. Three years later the, Federal Republic of Germany was still
using this principle[1], as shown by Helmut Palmer's conviction on
29.06.89 under the predecessor paragraph. Germany was thus, as
usual, in contempt of the European
Court. On 14.10.2004 she formalized this contempt by derogating the
European Convention of Human Rights altogether in her FCC Judgment
[6]. This international offense by Germany is regularly covered
by falsehoods and relativism in Government statements.
|
5.
|
The
"Doctrine of Excess"
|
5.1.
|
The
Application to Defamation Cases.
|
5.1.1.
|
The statistics in Fig. 2.1. are
clearly part of the "Doctrine of Excess "(DoE) since effectively it
represents nearly 18-20% of all criminal cases punished. Even if one
accepts the government conviction figures, it is still excessive. Even
when Great Britain had defamation laws, they were hardly ever used. For
example, there was one case in 2005 which compared with 180.000 in
Germany.
|
5.1.2.
|
The
persistence and extent to which the
justice system in Germany prosecutes defamation cases is
quite breathtaking, and against which, no adult arguments have any
effect. As far as we can determine, Germany has the doubtful honor of
being the undisputed leader in Europe in the field. The arguments for
the laws are put forward in all seriousness in [9] as justification.
The basis of defamation, as put forward, is the "Ehrverletzung"
(=wounding
of honor), which is difficult to translate in modern terms, because
German law has an anachronistic understanding of the word.
"Ehrverletzung" was a notion for combat between knights, dueling - and
comic operas.
|
5.1.3.
|
According
to [9] almost anything
can be interpreted as an defamation. For example to describe an airline
pilot as a "bus driver" or to wish an opponent in an argument "all the
best for a speedy recovery" can be punishable under perverted German law. Standard expressions,
such as
"Depp"(=Dolt), "Bulle"(=cop) are included in the "rationale". Such
epithets, are certainly not defamations but could be so defined in the
elastic paragraphs. Such elastic paragraphs rely, in other countries,
that value the rule of law, on the good sense of prosecutors and
judiciaries for their application.
Recent cases, that somehow
evaded the the 87% mark of the constitutional
court, and were heard (see 3.6.2.), were "Dummschwätzer"
(=blatherer) and "Durchgeknallt"(=wacky. See 3.6.1.). The thought
of so many adults, taking "blatherer" and "wacky" so deadly seriously,
is quite hilarious, on the one hand, the doctrine of excess, that lies
behind it, is quite another matter. Bearing in mind Germany's history,
stretching back to the days before the German Reich, the persistence of
the doctrine of excess is quite a chilling notion.
|
5.2.
|
The Beneficiaries of the Doctrine of
Excess.
|
5.2.1.
|
Defamation is only prosecuted
on application. If the DA's office considers that it is in the public
interest then the case will be prosecuted. Experience has
shown that the
beneficiaries of this "service" fall mainly into one or more of the
following main categories:
- Officials or those performing official tasks.
- Private persons
- Persons holding an important position in public life or
industry
|
5.2.2. |
The
category "Official" includes people who take themselves more seriously
than the quality of their performance in their pubic duties. Experience shows
that the defamations come mostly from exasperation at the
incompetence and the arrogance of office. In some cases, there lies
systematic provocation behind the action. Private
persons have to submit in person an application to prosecute within a
given deadline. Officials, however, are treated differently
and enjoy special protection against defamation and criticism. This
finds
expression in the method of submission of the application to prosecute.
The application, in such cases, comes from the superior of the alegedly defamed
official, which underscores his or her special status. The president of
the District Court Zweibrücken, for example, saw it as her
"welfare duty" to raise such an application for her subordinate
judiciary, whom a litigant had accused, by letter, of a "pathetic
display of incompetence".
|
5.2.3.
|
It
is very much a different story, if the application comes from private
persons, who do not belong to the "swamp" (see 4.1.2.) structures. In
the case of Claus Plantiko[1], the presiding judiciary used invective
against assembled members of the public and referred to them as
"Vollidioten"(=complete idiots). Applications for prosecution of this
man went unheeded. If, on the other hand, the private person is a
member of the "chummy" structures, the "chums" go into action. A third
variant is the submission of an application by a private person against
a political opponent of the structures. That invariably brings results.
|
5.2.4.
|
The third category, the
beneficiaries of paragraph 188 (see 4.2.2.). These people are protected
with increased penalties for defamation. However, the Judgment of the
European Court of Human Rights of July 1986 says quite the opposite:
"The limits of acceptable criticism are
accordingly wider as regards a politician as such than as regards a
private individual. Unlike the latter, the former inevitably and
knowingly lays himself open to close scrutiny of his every word and
deed by both journalists and the public at large, and he must
consequently display a greater degree of tolerance. No doubt Article 10
para. 2 (art. 10-2) enables the reputation of others - that is to say,
of all individuals - to be protected, and this protection extends to
politicians too, even when they are not acting in their private
capacity; but in such cases the requirements of such protection have to
be weighed in relation to the interests of open discussion of political
issues."
This bothers no judiciary in
Germany. The Federal Constitutional Court
unilaterally abolished the European Convention of Human Rights for
Germany on the 14.10.2004,
anyway [6] ( Bookmark 18).
|
5.3.
|
The
"Osterhase" Searches
|
5.3.1.
|
Included in the Doctrine of
Excess are the so-called "Osterhase" (=Easter Hare) searches. The
easter hare is a basically a children's game, in which the children go
searching for chocolate eggs, hidden by grown-ups for Easter Sunday.
Many German judiciaries are prepared to order an "Osterhase" search of
a person's
apartment in order to obtain evidence to prove defamation. There
is no balancing between the right to privacy and the seriousness of the
crime in Germany. This is another indication, of how hypothetical the
rights listed in the basic law as well as the European Convention for
Human Rights are and just how unattainable they are.
|
6.
|
Injustice
by Sampling
|
6.1.
|
Hand in
Hand
with the Summary Penalty Order(SPO)
|
6.1.1.
|
In
order to pursue a "Doctrine
of Excess" [2] , of which "injustice by sampling" (IBS) is a part, it
is necessary to make use of some defects of the justice system. Fig.
5.1.1 shows the model which is most
often used. In this case the Summary Penalty Order(SPO) is usually
applied. The SPO was discussed in [2].
Steps
1 and 2 are routine. If the accused opts for self-defense, he will
generally be refused insight into the prosecution files. If he knows
what is in §147 of the Rules of Procedure, he can apply for an extract,
not a summary, of evidence. No prosecutor in Germany takes his burden
of
production seriously.
If the accused has an attorney, step 4 works in most cases, and the
attorney can view the evidence. The way is then clear for the issue of
the SPO, which the judge in step 6, of course, signs without even looking,
The SPO is a "try on", and forms the
fist stage of IBS. (Naumann, see para 3.6.1.ff, also received an
SPO). If the accused has
been sufficiently intimidated he will accept it. The SPO is final in
two weeks (step 9), if no objection is registered. If the penalty is
set at more than 90 day units, then a
conviction is also centrally recorded. At that stage, the IBS is
complete and, in the majority of cases, successful. Thus irregular
justice (IJ) has been accomplished without the embarrassment of a trial
which public and press might have attended.
If the accused does not accept the SPO then the court may offer to drop
the case in exchange for a donation to a recognized charity. This
is, of course, not quite what IJ would want, but is nevertheless, a
success for IBS. If the
accused does not agree, or this step is omitted, then the case goes for
trial (step 8). In most cases the same
judiciary who signed the SPO will preside over the trial. They
consider this to be perfectly in order in
Germany, in other countries, it is a serious breech of the rule of law.
Since there is no rule of law in Germany, it is logical that nobody
could be accused if its breech.
Since probably none of the over 200.000 cases per year would hold
water at the ECtHR, the whole procedure constitutes
IBS. The question is, how quickly can the injustice be
achieved?. Steps 11, 12 and 14 will produce the desired results.
Acquittals are rare at this stage.
The further stages of the injustice-by-sampling procedure are based on
assumptions: The first being, that after the first instance, the
accused will make mistakes somewhere in the higher instances and the
matter will become final. (In his critical book [8] Rolf Bossi, an
attorney, explains some of the tricks employed by judiciaries to ensure
this.). There exists the possibility of submitting a constitutional
complaint. In this case, if he is not an important person, like Michael
Naumann, the chances are 87% that the case will be thrown out arbitrarily, without
a hearing (see Fig. 3.6.2).
|
6.1.2.
|
There
are other factors of misuse and many would also apply to cases other
than defamation. One of the most notorious is the handling of the
prosecution
files. The presiding judiciary, if the case goes to trial, usually
comes into the courtroom with a file under his arm. This file will
invariably contain information prejudicial to the accused, including an
extract
from criminal records.
This custom is also in force in some other countries. However, in the
countries where there is any due regard for the rule of law, there are
regulations governing the issue of files to judiciaries. These
regulations lay down the circumstances under which the president of a
court can view the files in advance, how such evidence, as is documented in the
files, is to be evaluated, what evidence is to be discarded etc. Under
no circumstances is viewing of evidence, which the accused has not
been given the chance to see, permissible. The presence of hearsay evidence on the files cannot
be regulated because there is, otherwise, no regulation governing this
type of evidence. In GB, for example, this is regulated by the
Civil Evidence Act[11] and The Criminal Procedure Rules ( Part 34) [11]
. Nobody cares about such things in Germany.
It is quite likely, that the file is important for
a judge, because of deficiencies and omissions in the presentation of
the prosecution case. Ambush prosecutions ( and ambush defenses) are the
order of the day, without anybody apparently noticing. To cap it all,
the verdict and sentencing phases are run concurrently, causing a mass
pile-up of vital justice principles, which the judiciaries fumble
and fudge until it fits, like a right handed glove on the left hand.
Since
the
average German citizen is becoming more aware of the European
Convention for Human Rights, and how this is being violated by the
judiciaries in Germany, an upward trend in the number of complaints to
the European Court of Human Rights can be expected. The German
authorities will know, however, just how to selectivly deal with these.
They control the registries for dealing with complaints from Germany as
well as the translation of the selected enlosures on the files.
|
7.
|
The
Interdependencies and the Chilling Effects
|
7.1.
|
The
Interdependency Diagram
|
7.1.1.
|
For
the abuses, highlighted
above, to work effectively, it is necessary to have a justice system,
which is inherently decrepit and out of control. This is most easily
recognizable in the "Injustice by Sampling" method, described in Para
6ff. In
a correctly functioning system, it does not work, as was shown in the
figures for GB over the years[1] as she had defamation laws but hardly
ever made use of them. The same applies to France, which also had these
laws and used them somewhat more frequently, but in the hundreds
compared to Germany's hundreds of thousands.
It is also necessary to have the "right" mentality to drive the
"Doctrine of Excess" to its limits. This is done, of course by
ignoring every principle of the rule of law, and also showing contempt
for the defunct (in Germany) European Convention of Human Rights.
|
7.1.2.
|
In order to
be able to draw an interdependency diagram, it is necessary to
summarize the abuses: The
justice system is full of major defects and deficiencies, only some of
which are covered in [2] and in this paper. If these shortcomings,
which have been encountered, in connection with defamation, are added
to
the lack of regulation of hearsay evidence in both criminal and civil
processes, then we have the following list:
- The abolition of the European Convention for Human Rights
since 2004 (4.2.2)
- No separation of verdict and sentencing phases in criminal
trials. (5.1.2).
- Secret trials, made possible by the SPO (3.4.1). This would
mean close proximity to Stalinist Russia.
- Ambush prosecutions(5.1.2)
- No regulation of hearsay evidence (5.1.2).
- No safeguards covering judicial impartiality. Most
judiciaries are members of political parties and are allowed to take an
active part in politics(4.1.1).
Apart from the formal shortcomings, listed above, we have encountered
the following "cultural" defects, which are caused by mentality and
politicized judiciaries:
- The "Doctrine of Excess" (5. ff)
- Injustice by sampling.(6.ff)
- Suppression of the Free Press by copious cases of "Exemplary
Triviality"(3.3.)
- The denial of due process by the Federal Constitutional
Court. (3.6.2.).
This list is by no means complete. It reflects only the flaws that were
met within the limits of the defamation laws.
|
7.1.3.
|
The content of 7.1.1 and 7.1.2
can be summarized in the following diagram:
Fig. 6.1.1. The interdependencies.
|
7.1.4.
|
The
interdependency makes clear that abolition of the defamation laws will
not stop all the abuses over night, since flawed procedures and
judicial
attitudes have intersection sets with other areas. However, with
200.000 cases in a year less, it would relieve the Justice authorities
of about 20% of their workload. The fact that they do not put a stop to
it, indicates how ernestly they cherish these infantile laws.
|
7.2.
|
The
Chilling Effects on the Media and Free Expression
|
7.2.1.
|
The Organization "Article 19"
in
a paper entitled "Defining Defamation" [13] refers to the "Chilling
Effect" in an exemplary way as:
"In many countries, criminal defamation
laws are abused by the powerful to limit criticism and to stifle public debate. The threat of
harsh criminal sanctions, especially imprisonment, exerts a profound chilling
effect on
freedom of expression. Such sanctions
clearly cannot be
justified,
particularly in light of the
adequacy of non-criminal sanctions in
redressing any harm
to
individuals’ reputations. There is always
the potential for abuse of criminal defamation laws, even in
countries where in general they are applied in a moderate fashion. The illegitimacy of the use of criminal
defamation laws to maintain public order, or to protect other public interests, has
already been noted. For these reasons, criminal
defamation laws should
be repealed."
In Germany, the chilling effect
is amplified by "Exemplary Triviality"
which is expressed by the cases in the "Wacky" category. The message is
quite simple, the authorities are saying "Look, if we can punish you
just for referring to someone as 'wacky', just think, what we could do,
if you
should really criticize someone in office".
|
7.2.2.
|
In Germany, the chilling effect
is less noticeable, the more the media functions in a supra regional
environment. For example the "Hessische Runfunk" (=Radio Hesse)
covering a complete province , broadcast the full details of the
"Hohmann Affair" immediately after they had been contacted by a
survivor of the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. This occurred 27 days
after Hohmann's speech, which the local newspaper had reported in
true "Royal Palace Reporter" fashion. Had it not been for the outcry,
external to Germany, the affair would probably not have been uncovered
and Hohmann still in office. The conjunctive of the affair is, however,
unfortunately, the more frequent case, so that virtually no information
normally gets out at local level. The affair also makes the reporting
by the local papers a key factor in discovery, but also shows, how far
this is a chilled press area.
Abolition of the defamation laws would probably only have a
moderate initial reduction in the chilling effects because the habits
of more than about
200 years would be hard to break.
|
7.2.3.
|
The
chilling effect on individual freedom of expression is difficult to
define. A lack of experience may mean that the deterrent effects
are reduced and a private person may blunder into the trap. The person
that used the term "Blatherer" cannot have expected that adult people,
all the way up to the FCC, would take the matter so deadly seriously.
Another category is the "Justice Victim", who after years of
fighting a justice of the quality reported here, but in other areas, lets fly with a few
choice phrases. The justice gratefully prosecutes these individuals since
a
few convictions can reduce their credibility, especially if they are
jailed. Another trick up the sleeve of the justice is the psychiatrization. The manner in which this works is adequately described
in [18]. It is very effective, very secret and, because of the
appalling quality or workmanship of both the justice and psychiatrists,
open to collusion.
Whilst we have a behavior model for justice victims, more work needs
to be done on it. The list, which follows, shows some of the major
categories of people who get prosecuted for defamation :
- Political opponents of the system
- Anti-corruption workers
- People who submit complaints against authorities.
- People accused of driving offenses
- Justice victims
- Other categories
Exactly why Michael Naumann was
prosecuted, nobody knows. It may have
been due to his considerable political activities. No professional
prosecutor could possibly have classed "wacky" as defamation and no
proper court could have convicted him.
|
8.
|
Germany
Today
|
8.1.
|
The Germans
display their Mentality
|
8.1.1.
|
The Fall of the Berlin Wall in
1989 showed the world that a dictatorship could be toppled using
peaceful means and without anybody getting seriously hurt. Old notions
about the blind obedience to authority of German citizens rapidly
dissolved. At the latest, the World Cup 2006 showed the world an
outward-looking and positive mentality, and that nothing would ever be the
same again in Germany. The same outward-looking mentality was apparent
in a night of support for Haiti, when more than 20 Million Euro
donations were received by "Bild Zeitung" and "ZDF"
|
8.4.
|
The
Mentality confirmed by Surveys
|
8.4.1.
|
 The
Institute of Demographics, Allensbach, has confirmed in
420.000 interviews, conducted since 1990, a new composure and
self-confidence
in the German way of thinking. In a presentation by Prof. Dr. Renate Köcher,
the Managing Director of the Institute, she reported, that Germans are less
interested in ideological debates than they were in the past and
concentrate more on factual issues. The nationalistic fringes of
politics do not enjoy much support.
Arrogance being unknown, the Germans rather give the impression of
an unruffled and self-confident nation. They have become popular in the
world, and that is the way they want to keep it, according to the
survey.
The move from Bonn to Berlin is seen as the right decision, for Berlin
is seen as a radiant city, which is the home of the government. The
federal authority is seen as surplacing the federal states in
importance. The notion "Berlin Republic" is rapidly gaining acceptance.
The introduction of the Euro is seen as a watershed in contemporary
history. Germany is regarded as the economic motor of Europe.
A presentation given by Prof. Köcher to launch
the new almanac 2009 can be viewed under [16]. There are many interesting
statements to be gathered from the statistics, which are included in the report.
|
9
|
The
unwanted Influence in today's Germany
|
9.1.
|
The
Tradition of Perversion.
|
9.1.1. |
The
mentality, which produces over 200.000 defamation cases per year can be traced back to the
Prussian Militarism of the19th Century. The situation just before WW1
is described by James W. Gerard, US Ambassador to Germany 1913-1917
[14].
Whilst the Nazi era is often blamed for the qualities of the German
justice today, the system was already in place in 1933 for them
to take over. The National Socialists were certainly responsible for the
bestial
perversions, a further development of the Doctrine of Excess, of the
system, but not necessarily for its systematic defects.
For
the postwar era, the statistics of Fig. 8.1.1 are of special interest.
They show the 4 levels of court together with the proportions of
ex-Nazi judiciaries occupying positions in them for the years 1954 and
1964. The statistics show an overwhelming majority of these people in
the year 1954 and still a significant presence in 1964. The downward
trend over the 10 year period is representative of natural wastage.
Nazi judiciaries were not selected by the Nazis because they respected
the rule of law, rather on the basis of their willingness to pervert the
course of justice. That perversion of the course of justice should
become a
way of life in postwar Germany, is a fact that need surprise nobody.
For example, none of the 160 professional judges and 179 prosecutions who
had been active in 5,243 death sentences, partly for "Hitler
Jokes", by the notorious
"Volksgerichtshof", was ever put on trial. There is the question of more
than 22,000
death sentences passed on members of the Wehrmacht, which were also
never prosecuted in postwar Germany.
The
present trends in the application of Germany's defamation laws (Fig.
2.1.) are indicative of deeper sicknesses in the system.
Comparing these trends to the negligible showing in the statistics of
Britain [1], one must conclude that, if Britain can only justify
one or two cases, the German figures must represent, for the most
part, mass perversion of justice on an unprecedented scale.
|
9.2.
|
An anachronistic and isolated Mentality
|
9.2.1.
|
The
mentality, which is associated with the Defamation Laws of today (see
Fig. 9.1.1), is, as a line of extrapolation stretching back to the
years before the founding of the German Reich, when it had other
surrogates but essentially the same structures. Germany has never
achieved separation of powers and thus the justice is at the mercy of
all kinds of irregulars.
The Justice as well as key areas of the administration are largely out
of step with German society. Alone the lack of "German Thoroughness"
in these areas, is an isolation factor making the mentality
different to that found in other areas. The appalling quality of work
by the justice and its experts, reported in [4], is another indicator
|
9.3.
|
Dangerous
Resistance
|
9.3.1.
|
There
is, of course, wide-spread resistance to the anachronistic presence in
German society. The statistics in Fig. 2.1 indicate that the Doctrine
of Excess is creating about 200.000 enemies of the system per year.
Unfortunately the resistance consists largely of all
the wrong people, resisting for the wrong reasons, for example the
Neo-Nazis as well and right- and left-wing
radicals. There is also a Fourth Reich Movement, which even pronounces
death sentences on the defamation-judiciaries. Those motivated by
humanitarian considerations are a very
small, almost negilgible, minority in this group. The bottom line is, therefore, a
substantial threat
to national stability, should any cataclysmic events take place in
the future.
|
10.
|
Summary
and Conclusion
|
10.1.
|
The
Restrictions on the Free Press
|
10.1.2.
|
By
no stretch of the imagination does Germany have a free press. Whilst
the situation is somewhat better at higher levels, where the media has
more commercial independence, these elements cannot cover
everything.The important local press is subject
to subtle but iron censorship (see
"Exemplary Triviality" 3.3.).
|
10.1.3.
|
The model, "Royal Palace
Reporting" was confirmed by the ICEUS report. This is the reason why,
corruption and nepotism can flourish at communal level in Germany.
Because corruption brings economic stability ( of a kind ), nobody asks
questions and transparency is not generally given.
|
10.1.4.
|
The
extensive use of the SPO means that there are secret trials [2] being
held in Germany. This in turn means that press and public are denied
information from them. Not only that, they are illegal court
verdicts signed by a judge, the SPOs, which is e.g. not comparable with
traffic
tickets since these are limited in scope and not signed by a judge.
|
10.2.
|
The Justice
System
|
10.2.1.
|
As
explained in [3], the
German justice system is a fossil dating back to the Prussian Military
Dictatorship pre-1873, along with its attitudes and
mentalities. The excess to which the defamation laws are applied, is a
product of those times. The only difference today is that,
of
necessity, "Majestätsbeleidigung") (=Defamation of a royal person )
has been abolished, only because such people do not exist any more. At
the time, it was allowed to cut a person down
with a saber, if he or she criticized an officer [3] and was
below
officer status. Today, the "Doctrine of Excess" (5)
silences criticism of those people, who are immature enough not to be
able to
deal with it. They are mostly people, whose performance in office is,
in any case, wanting, to say the least. There are 19 paragraphs[1],
covering defamation,
to chose from in Criminal Law[1]. This lends enormous flexibility
to the modes of abuse.
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10.2.2.
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The
application of defamation laws is a very visible sign of the abuses and
the lack of integrity which are characteristic of the German Justice
System. This means that just abolishing the defamation laws, will go a
long way to
bringing legal integrity and the confidence in justice, which is so
necessary
in a civilized society. It will only solve a fraction of the problems,
however. Looking at Fig. 6.1.1 we can see why: The mentality of the
judiciaries as well as the procedural, defects which appear under
defamation, also manifest themselves in all other other areas of the
justice system.
Indeed, it is doubtful, whether the "German
Justice System" can really qualify for that description: Certainly it is
a system of arbitration that occasionally works. Consider, however,
litigating against the commercial foundation in the Stuttgart area,
where the President of the District Court is also a member of the
supervisory board of that same foundation. Consider also
any form of litigation in a system infested with political
judiciaries, should the litigant not be on the "right" side.
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10.2.3.
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It is really astonishing
that the international community should be prepared to cooperate with
German justice without knowing, with what they are cooperating. Family
courts, for example have "marsupial" characteristics where,
particularly, Germany's notorious Jugendamt (Youth Office)
is de facto the judge. The quality of the court is mainly
determined by the lack of a regulation on hearsay evidence (5.1.2).
These are courts where anything goes and the documentation of the
hearings, including the verdicts, is about the same quality as is their
tasking of the experts [4].
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10.3.
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The
unwanted Mentality
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10.3.1.
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German Judiciaries try to cover
up their denial and betrayal of the European Convention for Human
Rights. If
necessary they will resort to pseudo-judicial verisimilitude to declare
black to be really white. A sample of this was given in [4] as the
justification for the derogation of the European Convention for Human
Rights by the FCC[6] on the 14.10.2004 :
"As a result of the status of the European
Convention on Human Rights as ordinary statutory law below the level of the constitution,
the ECHR was not functionally a higher-ranking court in relation to the courts of the States
parties. For this reason, neither in interpreting the European Convention on Human Rights nor in
interpreting national fundamental rights could domestic
courts be bound by the
decisions of the ECHR".
The
kind of argument used here is the necessary relativism attached to
their ECHR denial. They relativize the convention to their own
hierarchy and then conclude that because it allegedly has a lower
ranking, it is not mandatory. Art
46 of the Convention, however, does not tell Germany, how to rank the
Convention - nobody outside Germany cares, where they put it in the
hierarchy, as long as the decisions of the European Court of Human
Rights are obeyed in accordance with Art 46. Germany is, therefore, by
reason of her default, not
fulfilling her international
obligations and at the same time exposing her extreme aversion to
anything to
do with human rights. As a facade to cover this, she puts up the
Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), an impoverished tribunal, which
only serves to compound the human rights violations of the lower courts.
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10.3.2.
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The
attitudes and mentality shown in the matters of defamation and press
freedom are diametrically opposed to those shown by mainstream Germans.
They form an isolated culture within German society, which neither sets
a good example nor shows any other tendencies other than the need for
self-sustainance. It is a parasitic influence, producing oppositions,
which contain little humanitarian motivations and increasingly
vociferous extremism. The "defamation cult" is thus part of a latent
threat to peace and stability, which is only waiting for the right
kind of cataclysm to occur and help it to bring the system down.
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