An Oberlandesgericht (German: [ˈoːbɐˌlandəsɡəʁɪçt] ⓘ; plural – Oberlandesgerichte pronounced [ˈoːbɐˌlandəsɡəʁɪçtə] ⓘ; OLG, English: Higher Regional Court,[1][notes 1] or in Berlin Kammergericht: KG) is a higher court in Germany.
There are 24 Oberlandesgerichte in Germany and they deal with civil and criminal matters. They are positioned above regional courts (Landgerichte) and below the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof), in family and child law above the local courts (Amtsgericht) and below the Federal Court of Justice. In the Oberlandesgerichte, the offices of the Generalstaatsanwaltschaft (German: [ɡenəˈʁaːlˌʃtaːt͡sʔanvaltʃaft] ⓘ) or district attorney general are located. In criminal cases that are under primary jurisdiction of the Federal Court of Justice (i.e., cases concerning national security), the Oberlandesgerichte act as branches of the Federal Court of Justice, that is, as "lower federal courts" (Untere Bundesgerichte).
As per Section 120 Courts Constitution Act, OLGs have original jurisdiction (Erstinstanz) over crimes against public international law under the Völkerstrafgesetzbuch (genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes). This includes trials under universal jurisdiction (that were committed by non-Germans outside of Germany).
The OLG Düsseldorf is one of the most popular patent trial forums for patentees in Europe.[2]
The Oberlandesgerichte were first set up in the German Empire by the Courts Constitution Act of 27 January 1877. In Prussia, there had been Oberlandesgerichte as the higher provincial courts since 1808, known as Regierung from 1723 to 1808.
The individual Higher Regional Courts
As of 2023 there are 24 Higher Regional Courts in Germany. Each German state has at least one Higher Regional Court. Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate each have two, Bavaria, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia each have three Higher Regional Courts.[3]
For historical reasons the Higher Regional Court in Berlin is called the Kammergericht and the Higher Regional Courts in Hamburg and Bremen are called Hanseatic Higher Regional Court.
| Higher Regional Court | Native name and common abbreviation | ECLI-
court code |
Federal state (Bundesland) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe | Oberlandesgericht Karlsruhe (OLG Karlsruhe) | OLGKARL |  |
| Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart | Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart (OLG Stuttgart) | OLGSTUT | |
| Higher Regional Court of Bamberg | Oberlandesgericht Bamberg (OLG Bamberg) | OLGBAMB | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
| Higher Regional Court of Munich | Oberlandesgericht München (OLG München) | OLGMUEN | |
| Higher Regional Court of Nuremberg | Oberlandesgericht Nürnberg (OLG Nürnberg) | OLGNUER | |
| Kammergericht | Kammergericht (KG) | KG |  |
| Brandenburg Higher Regional Court | Brandenburgisches Oberlandesgericht (OLG Brandenburg) | OLGBB |  |
| Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Bremen | Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht in Bremen (HansOLG Bremen or OLG Bremen) | OLGHB |  |
| Hanseatic Higher Regional Court | Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht (HansOLG or OLG Hamburg) | OLGHH |  |
| Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main | Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt am Main (OLG Frankfurt) | OLGHE |  |
| Higher Regional Court of Rostock | Oberlandesgericht Rostock (OLG Rostock) | OLGROST |  |
| Higher Regional Court of Braunschweig | Oberlandesgericht Braunschweig (OLG Braunschweig) | OLGBS |  |
| Higher Regional Court of Celle | Oberlandesgericht Celle (OLG Celle) | OLGCE | |
| Higher Regional Court of Oldenburg | Oberlandesgericht Oldenburg (OLG Oldenburg) | OLGOL | |
| Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf | Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf (OLG Düsseldorf) | OLGD |  |
| Higher Regional Court of Hamm | Oberlandesgericht Hamm (OLG Hamm) | OLGHAM | |
| Higher Regional Court of Cologne | Oberlandesgericht Köln (OLG Köln) | OLGK | |
| Higher Regional Court of Koblenz | Oberlandesgericht Kobelnz (OLG Koblenz) | OLGKOBL |  |
| Palatine Higher Regional Court | Pfälzisches Oberlandesgericht Zweibrücken (OLG Zweibrücken) | POLGZWE | |
| Saarland Higher Regional Court | Saarländisches Oberlandesgericht (OLG Saarbrücken) | OLGSL |  |
| Higher Regional Court of Dresden | Oberlandesgericht Dresden (OLG Dresden) | OLGDRES |  |
| Higher Regional Court of Naumburg | Oberlandesgericht Naunburg (OLG Naunburg) | OLGNAUM | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
| Schleswig-Holstein Higher Regional Court | Schleswig-Holsteinisches Oberlandesgericht (OLG Schleswig) | OLGSH |  |
| Thuringian Higher Regional Court | Thüringer Oberlandesgericht (OLG Jena) | OLGTH |  |
Notes
- ↑ The usual English translation of Oberlandesgericht is "Higher Regional Court". See for example the official web site of the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf), retrieved on April 29, 2015.
References
- ↑ "Amtliche Bezeichnungen deutscher Gerichte" (PDF). Federal Foreign Office (in German). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ↑ "New president Patent Division Düsseldorf Appeal Court". Intellectual Property Expert Group Blog. 11 January 2008. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ↑ "Entscheidungen der Oberlandesgerichte". Juristisches Internetprojekt Saarbrücken (JIPS) (in German). Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
Further reading
- von Köckritz, Moritz (2011). Die deutschen Oberlandesgerichtspräsidenten im Nationalsozialismus (1933–1945). Rechtshistorische Reihe (in German). Vol. 413. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-631-61791-5.