Actually, it should have been much faster, after all, the position had been vacant since mid-2020 and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had already signed the certificate of appointment almost a year ago. But it took until Tuesday before Hans-Josef Thesling got it. It is now finally clear: The 60-year-old ministry official from North Rhine-Westphalia will take over as President of the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) in Munich. In doing so, he becomes the top tax lawyer in the country.
The appeal was preceded by a tough dispute. After Rudolf Mellinghoff, a former constitutional judge, retired as BFH President the summer before last, the Justice Minister at the time, Christine Lambrecht (SPD), wanted to appoint a new person to head the court: with CDU member Thesling at the head and Anke Morsch, the former Saarland State Secretary of Justice from the SPD, as his deputy. However, unsuccessful candidates filed a lawsuit against both personal details. Critics within the BFH and in the German Association of Judges accused both Thesling and Morsch of lacking the supreme court experience for top offices and that they were only candidates for party representation.
Hans-Josef Thesling (left) receives his certificate of appointment from Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP). She was ready a long time ago.
(Photo: Photothek/Leon Kügeler)
Last November, at least the legal dispute over Thesling’s appeal was decided: both the urgent application by an unsuccessful applicant and the subsequent hearing complaint were rejected by the Bavarian Administrative Court. This paved the way for his appointment. On the other hand, the dispute about the Morsch personality is still open. The decision of the Administrative Court on her appointment as Vice President is still pending.
Most recently, Thesling worked for a good three years as a department head in the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Justice. The lawyer had previously made a career in the state’s financial administration: first as a tax officer, later as a judge, before moving to the state parliament administration in Düsseldorf. In 2016 he was appointed President of the Düsseldorf Finance Court. In addition to the presidency, Thesling now takes over the presidency of the IX. BFH Senate, which deals with the taxation of income from renting and leasing as well as commercial income from the sale of shares in corporations.