LE CBD EN ALLEMAGNE. UNE SITUATION À RETENIR

Les juges et les procureurs jouent un rôle particulier en tant que représentants de l'État de droit et sont donc liés par des principes d'intégrité personnelle, non seulement en ce qui concerne la protection des droits de l'homme, mais aussi en ce qui concerne la protection des droits de l'homme.. (Deutscher Richtverbund. Éthique judiciaire en Allemagne.) (1)

L'impact du pouvoir judiciaire sur les essais de chanvre et de CBD

Hemp and CBD prosecutions in Germany have seen an unusual form of ‘justice’. Rather than quickly sorting out a minor problem the German judiciary kicked in doors, stuck guns in peoples faces and put them in handcuffs. While all this happened Europe sat back and watched.

Une "nouvelle normalité" étrange

The German police and prosecutors have unusual tactics to deal with hemp and CBD. German Police and border control in Lörrach, give people permission to enter Switzerland with the express purpose of buying CBD, then arrest them for doing so. Prosecutors knowing the CBD law is about to change, speed up prosecutions to beat the changes in law. And marijuana packed full of THC is legal in Germany – while industrial hemp with no THC – is an illegal narcotic. Germany 2024.

Court Decisions and CBD

CBD trials in Germany have been plagued with irregularities which may have cast doubt on the German court system. Understandable when correct decisions from one Court are immediately overturned by another.

Leipzig, Germany’s highest court seemed lost, taking a sound, sensible decision from Berlin and reversing it for no good reason. The decision from Leipzig was so out of place and the justifications so poor – one commentator described Leipzig’s decision as a “scandal” and another as a German “embarrassment”.

Leipzig – A Decision to Remember

More concerningly, the decision from Leipzig resulted in violent arrests and prosecutions across the whole of Germany. Arrests and prosecutions based on laws which some years later have been described as “senseless “. These senseless laws, used with gusto by German prosecutors, have recently been the focus of political attention. Because these laws had unjust outcomes and because the laws contradict EU regulations – politicians have them earmarked for deletion as quickly as possible.

L'acceptation de la justice et de ses décisions par la société est indispensable à l'État de droit démocratique. La transparence des actions des juges et des procureurs est une exigence essentielle à cet égard. (Deutscher Richtverbund. Éthique judiciaire en Allemagne.) (2)

La course est lancée

Even though German hemp laws did not reflect eu values, were outdated and highly complained about – prosecutors raised no objections nor asked for EU clarification. Rather they punished, humiliated and convicted German citizens by the thousands. People from all across Germany violently arrested and dragged through the courts using highly questionable laws. And even now, though these laws are earmarked for deletion as soon as possible, prosecutors continue to use them. And the State does not question their motives.

Legal Ethics- Deutscher Richtverbund

Prosecuting citizens with laws earmarked for deletion is a sensitive issue. Does this align with ethical standards of the Deutscher Richtverbund – the German prosecutors code of ethics? Are prosecutors meeting the ethical requirements of their profession and does anybody care?

If politicians have decided that a law is no longer working, a law which has been heavily criticised for many years, prosecutions based on this law should immediately be stopped. This makes sense. However it would seem quite the opposite is happening: rather than prosecutions being stopped – prosecutions are continuing at double speed – before the law is changed. Cases which have sat idle for three or four years are suddenly going to court.

‘For the justice system and its decisions to be accepted by society is indispensable to the democratic rule of law. The transparency of …public prosecutors’ actions is an essential requirement.’

(Deutscher Richtverbund. Judicial Ethics In Germany.) (3 )

Les tribunaux prennent des décisions politiques?

Some suggest the Leipzig court made a political decision and not a legal decision. It did what the State and police requested, rather than simply apply the law. This ‘conspiracy theory’ is no more than a whisper of discontent. Courts are forbidden to simply rubber stamp requests from the State or the police.

Like many conspiracy theories this view is a little unfair. Perhaps the Leipzig judges simply interpreted the law too narrowly or just failed to fully understand EU law. We will never know the truth for sure, but it’s fair to say the Leipzig decision will be remembered for a long time.

Le principe de la séparation des pouvoirs énoncé dans la Loi fondamentale allemande garantit l'indépendance du pouvoir judiciaire en tant que troisième pilier du pouvoir d'État, à côté du pouvoir législatif et du pouvoir exécutif. Pour cette seule raison, la profession de juge et de procureur ne doit pas être considérée comme une simple composante de la "fonction publique". (Deutscher Richtverbund. Éthique judiciaire en Allemagne.)(3)

Une bonne direction judiciaire est nécessaire

If we compare the Berlin and Leipzig court decisions – Berlin predicted the direction hemp law would take. Leipzig got it wrong.

What happens when a court gets it wrong? Many things happen – in Germany hundreds and possibly thousands of small businesses have been closed and jobs gone. Armed police have kicked in doors, citizens have been raided, humiliated and arrested – because a court got it wrong. Had the Leipzig court simply followed the Berlin court, as expected, this would have been prevevented.

There are very few great legal minds are most are not available when needed. This is an unfortunate reality of life. The consequences of this truth when it plays out before us, in the real world, is sobering.

Les procureurs comprennent-ils la loi sur la CBD ??

Moving away from the courts and back to prosecutors. A specialist narcotics defence lawyer said quite frankly German prosecutors don’t understand the CBD law and nor do judges. I’ve heard this said on several different occasions from several different lawyers in different parts of Germany – that prosecutors simply don’t understand the CBD law.

Perhaps it’s fair to ask that prosecutors be familiar with the law if they authorise 15 armed police to kick in peoples doors and point guns at peoples heads?

More Education Less Force.

We can see Germany did little. Rather than work slowly and sensibly through the issue as other EU countries did, Germany used violence and aggression: overcomplicating a somewhat simple problem. The situation didn’t require force it required sensible decision making and better education.

Refusing guidance from the EU and failing to properly understand EU hemp law, German prosecutors chose to target citizens as narcotics offenders rather than search out the truth. The German judiciary took the easiest path available turning a blind eye to the devastation they caused.

This cavalier attitude has resulted in a lingering distrust of the legal system as citizens sense they were betrayed, not protected by the State.

Conclusion

In France the situation was handled with a mature and benevolent approach. The French showed respect to their citizens. The French quickly came into line with EU hemp requirements modernising and updating their legal system. The burden of CBD prosecutions was identified as a state and judicial responsibilty and citizens were left in relative peace.

In Germany the judicial system did nothing to stop the unnecessary CBD prosecutions, rather it sat back and made lots of easy money by fining citizens and confiscating their money and property. This is still happening at the end of 2024. France had the fairy tale ending where everyone lived happily ever after. Not so Germany where the nighmare continues still.

Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Cem Özdemir who has pushed hard to update German law, hemp prosecutions may soon be a thing of the past. And perhaps apologies will be in order.

Magna Carta année 1215

(38) À l'avenir, aucun fonctionnaire ne pourra juger un homme sur la base de sa propre déclaration non étayée, sans produire des témoins crédibles de la véracité de celle-ci.

Allemagne CBD 2024. L'Allemagne est légale en matière de CBD 2024

1. Deutscher Richtverbund. Éthique judiciaire en Allemagne. https://www.drb.de/fileadmin/DRB/pdf/Ethik/1901_DRB-Broschuere_Richterethik_EN_Judicial_Ethics.pdf
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.