The AfD politician Maier remains in early retirement as a judge. The Federal Court of Justice confirmed this decision by the Free State of Saxony. The background is Maier’s repeated racist statements in public.
The AfD politician Jens Maier is no longer allowed to return to the judge’s bench. The Federal Court of Justice ruled in favor of the Free State of Saxony in its decision to put Maier into early retirement. The 61-year-old has failed in his appeal against a verdict made by the Leipzig service court at the end of 2022.
From the service court’s point of view, the reason was the politician’s racist and derogatory statements. The judges in Karlsruhe have now confirmed this judgment, as the decision from Leipzig did not contain any legal errors.
Maier classified as right-wing extremist
Maier has been a member of the AfD since 2013 and has repeatedly attracted attention for right-wing extremist formulations in speeches or through posts on social media. For example, he described migration as the “production of mixed peoples” and in 2017 the coming to terms with National Socialism as a “cult of guilt”. Maier is also said to have been part of the now officially dissolved “wing” of the AfD, which was classified as right-wing extremist by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in 2020. This year, the Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution also classified Maier himself as a right-wing extremist.
Maier worked as a judge until 2017 before entering the Bundestag as a member of the AfD. He was not re-elected to this post in 2021, whereupon he requested to return to service as a judge.
doubt sth impartiality Maiers
The Saxon Ministry of Justice initially agreed to the return, but then requested that Maier be put into early retirement. The reason: The public’s trust in Maier as a judge has suffered as a result of his public statements and it is no longer guaranteed that the AfD politician will exercise the office impartially and in accordance with the constitution.
In addition, the Free State of Saxony argued that Maier’s judicial rights and duties had only been suspended during his time as a member of parliament, but had not ended. The general public must be able to trust that judges are only bound by the law – this is about the reputation of the judiciary.
Judges are allowed to be politically active in Germany. However, the principle applies that they exercise moderation and there are no doubts that they behave in a politically neutral manner when carrying out their duties.
Maier could lose all salary as a judge
A second case against Maier is currently underway – a disciplinary case before the judge’s service court in Leipzig. The question there is which official duties he violated through his statements. So it’s about sanctioning misconduct – possibly with serious consequences for Maier. The Saxon Ministry of Justice has requested that he be fired and that he be deprived of all his salary as a judge.
Ref.: RiZ (R) 1/23