Application for a ban on conducting official business
But actually, Maier shouldn’t even take up the post of judge. In order to do this, the Ministry has drawn up a second letter. It applied to the Leipzig Regional Court – the local service court for judges – for the AfD politician to be retired. However, this procedure is associated with high legal hurdles and must be examined by the supervisors in the Dippoldiswald court who are then specifically responsible for Maier.
In order to bridge the time until a decision is reached without Maier working as a judge, the Ministry has applied to the Judicial Service Court in Leipzig for a temporary ban on conducting official business. According to Minister of Justice Meier, this is justified with the “defense of a serious impairment of the administration of justice from March 14, 2022”. The ministry hopes that this application will be dealt with urgently and that Jens Maier will therefore not be able to take up his new position in Dippoldiswalde.
All judges and civil servants in the service of the Free State of Saxony must commit themselves to the free democratic basic order within the meaning of the Basic Law and must ensure that it is observed at all times.
Minister of Justice Meier emphasized that all citizens must be able to rely on the fact that the Saxon judiciary guarantees compliance with the fundamental principles of the rule of law. And Meier added: “Anyone who is classified as a right-wing extremist by state authorities cannot be a credible representative of the judiciary and seriously damages the reputation of the administration of justice.”
Background to Jens Maier’s personnel
– Maier’s office as a judge at the Dresden district court has been suspended since 2017 because he sat in the Bundestag for the AfD.
– After losing this mandate in the federal elections at the end of 2021, Maier applied to return to the judiciary.
– By March 15, he must be assigned a job.
– The 60-year-old Maier had drawn attention to himself several times in the past with right-wing extremist statements. He flirts with his right-wing positions and political border crossings.
– Maier is listed as a right-wing extremist by the Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
German Association of Judges: “This way is better than none”
The German Association of Judges (DRB) has welcomed the actions of the Saxon Ministry of Justice against the former AfD member of the Bundestag Jens Maier. When asked by MDR, DRB chairman Joachim Lüblinghoff said: “This path is better than not going at all.” However, many, including the judges’ association, made it clear “that we would have clearly favored a different path”. Lüblinghoff means the instrument of the judge indictment. It was not the administration of justice that should have taken action against Maier, but the parliament, i.e. the Saxon state parliament. That would have been a “clear and clear signal” from Saxony for all of Germany, said the judge’s representative.