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THE GREEN BAG
eastern parts of Germany include not more than ten thousand people. According to this difference, the work done by the County Courts varies greatly in amount as is shown by the different number of judges. Berlin Centre has about one hundred County Court judges, those eastern districts mostly one or two. The kind of work is the same in all County Courts. They have jurisdiction: 1. In civil proceedings of every kind if the matter in controversy is not more than seventy-five dollars' worth. 2. In bankruptcy proceedings without limitation. 3. In criminal matters, including all police contraventions and a number of misde meanors. 4. In matters of the so-called non-con tentious jurisdiction, which ranks near the first in importance of the work done by these courts. In this respect they may be com pared to the English American Probate Courts; although their work is much more comprehensive and covers many matters attended to by administrative officials in America. I can mention here only the principal subjects of this non-contentious jurisdiction; they are: 1. Registration of real rights, as of con veyances and mortagages on real property. 2. Matters of guardianship. 3. Probate Court matters, as precautionary steps for the administration of the estate, opening and publication of wills, procedure on partition of estates among co-heirs. 4. Registration for different purposes, as of marriage settlements, commercial matters, mines and ships. 5. Judicial authentication of instruments, etc. The second class of German Courts are the Superior Courts (Landgerichte). The country is divided into about one hundred and sixty districts of such courts, which include a certain number of county court districts.
The Superior Courts are collegiate courts, composed of a president and a number of associate judges. The number of these corresponds to the density of the population in their districts. All decisions are given by at least three, in some cases by five judges. The superior courts have original jurisdiction over all civil proceedings if the amount in controversy is more than $75.00; secondly, in criminal matters, over the remaining mis demeanors and all crimes; they have, thirdly, appellate jurisdiction over the appeals from the County Courts in civil and criminal proceedings and in some matters of the non-contentious jurisdiction. The Courts of Appeal, the number of which is about twenty, have jurisdiction of appeals from the Superior Courts in civil and in some criminal matters. They are collegiate courts, divided into civil and criminal senates. At the head of the court stands a President. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction of appeals from the Courts of Appeals in civil matters and of appeals from the Superior Courts in some criminal matters. I may say immediately that the latter court has nothing to do with the education of the German lawyer. Now to continue our theme. • The plan as to the further education of the law student, now called " Referendar," is to let him go gradually through all the different kinds of courts under the guidance of a judge and to let him see and study all sorts of court work from the Bench sitting near his guide. As the number of judges in Germany is nearly the same as the number of Referendars, it is possible to put each young lawyer under the guidance of one judge. Besides his court work the student has the opportunity to see the work of the state attorney and the business of the Counsellor at Law. The period during which he has to study in the several courts differs in the several German states although the differences are not very great. I refer to the largest
