Germany moves to bar 'extremists' as volunteer lay judges

German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig is seeking amendments to current legislation to ensure that volunteer judges demonstrate a clear loyalty to the country's constitution and to prevent extremists from serving.

In comments made to the Sunday edition of Die Welt newspaper, the social democrat politician said she will present a draft bill next week.

With the measure, Hubig aims to prevent far-right extremists from infiltrating the courts through the election of lay judges - non-professional volunteers who sit alongside professional judges to help decide legal cases.

"We want to clarify in the law: volunteer judges must also advocate for the free and democratic basic order," Hubig said. "They must stand with both feet on the ground of the Basic Law," she said, referring to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany adopted in 1949.

Anyone who previously received a prison sentence or a fine of more than 90 days of set daily income should not be eligible to become a lay judge, according to the reform first proposed by the minister in June.

If there are doubts regarding an applicant's loyalty to the constitution, the lay judge election committee must investigate the matter, she said. This can mean requesting information from the central criminal register or checking the person's public social media profiles.

According to Die Welt, it is already possible for anyone to lodge an objection against a proposed lay judge based on the mandatory publication of lists of names.

Hubig had previously spoken of indications that an increasing number of candidates applying to be lay judges did not adhere to Germany's constitutional values.