Reichsgericht

The Reichsgericht, meaning "Court of the Realm," was the supreme court of the German Reich from its establishment in 1879 until its dissolution in 1945. It served as the highest court of appeal for civil and criminal matters across the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, and the Nazi period, making it the final arbiter in most non-constitutional cases. The court was based in Leipzig, in a purpose-built building noted for its neoclassical architecture.

The institution was organized as a central judicial body with a president and several senates (panels of judges) that heard appeals from lower courts. Judges were appointed to serve on the Reichsgericht by the central government. The court’s jurisdiction covered a broad range of legal issues, including commercial, administrative, and private-law matters. It did not function as a separate constitutional court; disputes over the constitutionality of laws were not its primary remit, a status that reflected the constitutional framework of the empire, republic, and regime it served.

During the Nazi era, the judiciary, including the Reichsgericht, operated under increasing political influence, and judicial independence diminished as the regime aligned legal proceedings with its policies. Nevertheless, the Reichsgericht continued to hear cases until Germany’s defeat in 1945.

After 1945, the Reichsgericht was dissolved as part of the Allied reorganization of German law. The Leipzig building remained a landmark and was repurposed for other judicial and administrative uses in the subsequent German states. The Reichsgericht is remembered as a central institution of the pre- and interwar German legal system and as a symbol of the era’s judicial architecture.