Dr. Ingve Björn Stjerna, LL.M.

EU Patent Reform: The German Ministry of Justice and the legal scrutiny of the UPCA and the draft legislation for its ratification,

Article on the assessment of the UPCA and its ratification in Germany for compatibility with the Grundgesetz and Union law by the German Ministry of Justice (Published on 21/10/2019)

Before a bill can be introduced into parliamentary proceedings, German law stipulates that it must be subjected to a comprehensive legal scrutiny, particularly by the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (“BMJV”), in order to ensure that it is compatible with the German Constitution (“Grundgesetz”) and Union law. The BMJV must certify in writing that this legal scrutiny has been carried out with a positive result. In the case of an international Agreement such as the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (“UPCA”), the BMJV and the Federal Ministry of the Interior must already be involved in the preparatory work for the purpose of constitutional examination. The following article deals with the framework of this legal scrutiny and its implementation with regard to the UPCA and the two pieces of draft legislation submitted for its ratification in Germany. The fact that compatibility with the Grundgesetz was apparently examined only very selectively and that with Union law was apparently not examined at all should come as no surprise in the light of previous experience.

  • Download English version (Article of 21/10/2019, PDF)
  • Download German version (Artikel vom 21/10/2019, PDF)


Resources:

  • Link to the „Joint Rules of Procedure of the Federal Ministries“ („Gemeinsame Geschäftsordnung der Bundesministerien“) of 01/09/2011 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to the „Manual for Drafting Legislation“ („Handbuch zur Vorbereitung von Rechts- und Verwaltungsvorschriften“) (2nd edition, 2012) (German language).
  • Link to the „Handbook of Legal Formality” („Handbuch der Rechtsförmlichkeit“) (3rd edition, 2008).
  • Link to decision BVerfG, 2 BvR 2728/13 et al., judgment of 21/06/2016 – OMT.
  • Link to decision 2 BvR 2728/13 et al., decision of 14/01/2014 – OMT (CJEU referral).
  • Link to decision 2 BvR 2735/14, decision of 15/12/2015 – European arrest warrant.
  • Link to decision BVerfG, 2 BvE 2/08 et al., judgment of 30/06/2009 – Lisbon.
  • Link to the CV of Johannes Karcher from fordhamipconference.com (PDF).
  • Link to the document „Roadmap of the Preparatory Committee of the Unified Patent Court“ of 16/09/2014 (PDF).
  • Link to BMJV organisation plan of 15/02/2016 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to BMJV organisation plan of 01/10/2017 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to document 907/2012 (PDF, German language).
  • Link zu Council document 14750/12 of 12/10/2012 (PDF).
  • Link to document 815/2015 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to document 835/2015 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to CJEU Opinion 1/17 of 30/04/2019 – CETA (PDF).
  • Link to CJEU, case C-284/16, judgment of 06/03/2018 – Slovak Republic / Achmea (PDF).
  • Link to CJEU, case C-64/16, judgment of 27/02/2018 – Associação Sindical dos Juízes Portugueses / Tribunal de Contas (PDF).
  • Link zu Council document 7928/09 of 23/03/2009 (PDF).
  • Link to document 907/2012-1 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to document 907/2012-2 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to document 907/2012-7 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to document 246/2016-8 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to document 246/2016-9 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to document 246/2016-10 (BV 22/11/2016) (PDF, German language).
  • Link to document 246/2016-10 (BV 24/11/2016) (PDF, German language).
  • Link to the BPatG allocation business plan of 01/10/2019 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to Federal Council printed matter 751/16 of 09/12/2016 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to document 246/2016-10 (09/05/2016) (PDF, German language).
  • Link to Referenced Submission („Bezugsvorlage“) of 07/01/2016 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to the statement by the German Federal Government of 29/09/2009 in CJEU Opinion proceedings 1/09 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to the pleading by the German Federal Government of 17/05/2010 in CJEU Opinion proceedings 1/09 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to Council document 11533/11 of 14/06/2011 (PDF).
  • Link to document 1132/2011 (PDF, German language).
  • Link to Parliament printed matter 18/11137 of 13/02/2017 (PDF, German language).


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