Category Archives: Law
German Supreme Court ends Discrimination in Citizenship Cases
This is big and it concerns hundreds of you who have contacted me about restitution of German citizenship in recent years. I can’t contact each and everyone individually (my fees are too modest for that, and donations to keep this … Continue reading
German Law: What happens to Children when the Parents die?
Recently, parents seem to be thinking about their possible early demise, because I have been getting this question more frequently: “What will happen to our children if we, mother and father, were to die?” I don’t know why people are … Continue reading
German Supreme Court approves anti-Corona measures – for now
The German Supreme Court, or Federal Constitutional Court, to translate its name literally, has approved the anti-Corona measures. At least for the time being. The measures to fight the pandemic in Germany are not the strictest in Europe. For example, … Continue reading
“East West Street” by Philippe Sands
As a lawyer and budding historian, I found Philippe Sands‘ idea of telling the story of international criminal law through the biographies of Hersch Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin interesting. But the book East West Street is overloaded with the irrelevant … Continue reading
Does the Federal Republic of Germany even exist? A discussion with a “Reichsbürger”.
Many years ago, someone walked into my law office, showed me a notice about some traffic fine and explained, confusing our respective roles in the attorney-client relationship, why he definitely wouldn’t need to pay the fine. According to him, the … Continue reading
Testing a Client’s Sense of Humor
Five years ago, an American lady contacted me about applying for German citizenship. She fell into that group of people who could qualify without living in Germany, but she would need to pass the German language test at a high … Continue reading
Visiting the UK is as cheap as never before
Sometimes, particularly when I put on my lawyer hat, I am inclined to think that maybe, just maybe, that whole Brexit thing wasn’t properly thought through from the outset. But big words like “sovereignty” won over practical concerns, and thus … Continue reading
Renting in Germany
Rental contracts all over the world: You agree on the monthly rent, the landlord gives you the key, you move in and pay the rent every month. If there is an issue, you call each other and talk about it. … Continue reading
GDPR – Privacy Policy
Finally, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has come into effect, and there is panic all over the continent, as if there hadn’t been any data protection laws in force until now. And it seems like everyone slept through the … Continue reading
How to deal with disorganized clients
A lady who already displayed some warning signs wanted me to advise her about a child custody case in Germany. In the following conversation, I am the part in dark blue. I haven’t heard from her again. By the way, … Continue reading
