Germany’s Association of Judges has warned of a sharp rise in pending criminal cases. By the end of last year, the number of unresolved cases had surpassed one million for the first time, marking an increase of nearly 50 percent within five years, Sven Rebehn, federal managing director of the association, said on Thursday in Berlin. He also noted that proceedings are increasingly being dropped on grounds of minor significance, a development he said damages public trust in the rule of law.
According to the association, 50 suspects considered urgently wanted nationwide in 2025 had to be released from pre-trial detention because their cases were taking too long to conclude. The allegations involved serious crimes, including homicide, rape and grievous bodily harm. There has also been a sharp rise in asylum-related cases, with numbers more than doubling from around 62,000 in 2022 to over 140,000 proceedings.
Jochen Kopelke, head of the Police Union (GdP), called on politicians to act in response to the figures. “This collapse of the criminal justice system must be prevented by politicians,” Kopelke said, describing the situation within Germany’s criminal justice system as “dramatic.”
Investigative authorities are struggling with mounting case files, staff shortages, rising interpreter costs, mass proceedings, slow digitalisation and new forms of crime. Significantly more police officers, prosecutors and judges are needed, the association said.
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