Münster (dpa / lnw) - The Vice President of the North Rhine-Westphalian Higher Administrative Court has criticized a hitherto missing personnel decision in the state in an unusually sharp manner. "The fact that the top position in the North Rhine-Westphalian administrative court system and thus also a Senate chairperson position has been vacant for almost two years now since President Dr. Brandts retired at the end of May 2021, is therefore met with a growing lack of understanding and leads to questions here as well as among the interested public that have to be answered elsewhere," said Sebastian Beimische on Thursday in Münster.

At the OVG's annual press conference, the Vice President spoke about the staffing of the courts and the speeding up of procedures. The position of President, which has now been vacant for almost two years, was also a topic in the legal committee of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament. Justice Minister Benjamin Limbach (Greens) had not commented on the personnel issue. The minister did not want to answer questions about the applicants in mid-January.

Linked to the Presidential Senate is a major case pending at the OVG in the dispute between the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the AfD. The current personnel situation in the Senate does not allow serious comments on a start date. According to the Vice President, there are still deadlines for comments from those involved. However, the start of the procedure is not dependent on the occupation of the presidential post.