The Federal Constitutional Court introduces electronic legal communications as of 1 August 2024

Press Release No. 63/2024 of 29 July 2024

On 1 August 2024, §§ 23a ff. of the Federal Constitutional Court Act (Bundesverfassungsgerichtsgesetz – BVerfGG) will enter into force. These provisions enable electronic legal communications with the Federal Constitutional Court. This means that starting 1 August 2024 at 00:00 CEST, procedural applications, briefs and annexes can be submitted to the Federal Constitutional Court electronically in a legally effective, fast and secure manner. Conversely, the Federal Constitutional Court can transmit its procedural documents to the parties and their authorised representatives electronically as of this date.

Members of the general public may use electronic legal communications beginning 1 August 2024, but they are not obliged to do so. Members of the general public will still have the option of submitting their procedural documents to the Federal Constitutional Court by post or fax.

Lawyers, authorities or legal persons under public law, on the other hand, must submit their procedural applications, briefs and annexes electronically beginning 1 August 2024; submissions made after this date by other means, in particular by post or fax, will not be legally effective.

Electronic documents must bear a qualified electronic signature of the person responsible for them or else must be signed by the person responsible and submitted via a secure method of transmission. Secure methods of transmission are, for example, a special electronic lawyers’ mailbox (beA), an electronic citizens' and organisations’ mailbox (eBO), the Mein Justizpostfach service or the mailbox and delivery service of a sender-confirmed De-Mail account.

What is important to note: procedural documents still cannot be submitted by email in a legally effective manner.

You can find further information regarding electronic legal communications (in German only) on our website.