ndividuals in the German government are threatening fundamental Constitutional guarantees for German citizens by attempting to tamper with the impartiality of the judiciary—perhaps the most vital stronghold of freedom in Germany.
A propaganda campaign launched by the government is aimed at convincing judges to rule against Scientologists and other religious minorities when they appear in court, thus endangering the safeguard of an independent judiciary where all may get a fair hearing.
The German Constitution specifically guarantees that a minority religion such as Scientology, even while under assault from a hostile government, can get an unbiased hearing in the courts. The German judiciary has generally kept the faith, as witnessed by the 25 local, regional and federal courts in 17 years that have recognized and confirmed the religious nature of Scientology. In many cases, the losing party was the government.
The government’s treachery was instigated in a desperate attempt to bring the relatively even-handed courts into line with uneven-handed government political machinery, flaunting the Constitutional provision enacted in post-Holocaust and post-World War II days to prevent just such incursions.
The propaganda campaign has taken the form of a program to “enlighten” judges about religious minorities. The assault began in October 1993, with a report issued by the Ministry for Labor, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia: “The court cases with Scientology have also shown that the general laws can only be applied forcefully if Scientology is not looked upon as a religious or philosophical society in the sense of the Basic Law... .”
In other words, if judges could be swayed to deny Scientologists their constitutional right of free religious belief and practice, the government could then take destructive actions against the Church—without judicial restraint. It need only be carried out under the guise of “law enforcement.”
The Ministry’s report also proposed “enlightenment seminars” about religions for judges, teachers, police, and university students and faculty. The first of these took place in December 1993 at the German Academy of Judges near Berlin. The Minister of Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia addressed 32 judges and state prosecutors, two from each state. Other speakers included representatives of groups funded by the government to attack particular religions—government interference the German Supreme Court had found unconstitutional.
In a further step, former state prosecutor Jürgen Keltsch urged passage of discriminatory legislation that would strip new religions of rights granted to all other religious communities.
These activities are nothing less than attempts to both subvert the rule of law and politicize the independent judiciary. They are, in fact, attempts to return to days most Germans had hoped remained in the past.
