Complex processes and procedures in the course of the VW emissions scandal continue to determine the work of the Saxon courts. There are other challenges as well.
Dresden/Leipzig (dpa/sn) - Criminal proceedings with umpteen participants and complex facts make the work in courts in Saxony more difficult, as do mass proceedings, the introduction of electronic files (e-files), a high average age and sick leave. At the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Dresden there are particularly procedures in diesel exhaust gas disputes, the number of new entries in 2022 was almost 1100, as a spokeswoman says.
In addition, there are civil proceedings on premium adjustments in private health insurance companies, in which insured persons, mostly represented by law firms specializing in this area, have opposed tariff increases. Many other proceedings involve contracts for unit-linked life and pension insurance that were not provided with proper instruction on the right of withdrawal and should therefore be ineffective.
The state protection senate has been bound for over a year by the trial against the alleged left-wing extremist Lina E. and three co-defendants, which is currently scheduled to end in May. The hearing in the high-security hall of the OLG on the outskirts of the city also demands security personnel, among other things because of the temporarily high staff shortages due to Corona, says OLG President Leon Ross.
Cases of illness also led to delays in the process of jewel theft from the Green Vault at the Dresden Regional Court, which is also being heard in the special Higher Regional Court room - with six accused, 14 defense attorneys, three public prosecutors and umpteen experts and witnesses. A comprehensive criminal tax case has been running at the Economic Criminal Court since June 2021, according to a court spokesman. There too, appointments had to be postponed several times due to Corona. It is now scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2023.
In the civil area, there was an increase in proceedings in 2022 involving the extension of the diesel scandal to mobile homes, as well as proceedings regarding architects' fees, in which more than 500,000 euros are being sued. In general, there are always difficulties with the e-file there, and there are often interruptions of several hours due to non-functioning technology. The court spokesman expects that "the very high workload" will remain.
At the district court in Chemnitz, there were proceedings with seven defendants and another with nine suspects, 18 defense attorneys, six joint plaintiffs and up to 60 witnesses. In the case of diesel exhaust gas proceedings, however, the peak has been exceeded, and their number fell sharply in 2022, "probably due to the established case law of the Federal Court of Justice in many areas," says a court spokeswoman. In contrast, "teething troubles" with e-files "all cost a lot of time". Proceedings are also delayed if employees, defendants, lawyers or witnesses are sick.
The number of diesel exhaust gas cases is also declining at the Leipzig Regional Court, "probably also because any existing claims could also be statute-barred in the meantime," as a spokesman says. After the introduction of the e-file, however, many attachments to the pleadings of the parties involved in the proceedings made the processing of such mass proceedings more difficult and delayed. And in criminal cases, the days of hearings are constantly increasing, especially in the first instance - the chambers sometimes have to negotiate four days a week.
The Görlitz district court is burdened by the high average age, "the gradual rolling wave of retirement" and the recruitment of young people, as a spokesman reports. The introduction of the e-file is also causing difficulties in the civil chambers - and there the exhaust gas procedures "still play a major role".
