Günter Hirsch (born 30 January 1943) is a German legal scholar who served as the seventh President of the Federal Court of Justice of Germany from 2000 to 2008.

Biography

Günter Erhard Hirsch was born in Neuburg an der Donau, the second child of Erhard and Anni Hirsch. After primary school, he attended gymnasium in Neuburg, graduating with his

abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in 1964.Biographical details of Prof. Dr. Günter Hirsch
Bundesgerichtshof, official website. Retrieved April 7, 2011 From 1964 to 1969, he studied

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. He took his first state exam in 1969, followed by the second one in 1973. During this period, he also worked as a research assistant for the

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. He also completed his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

there. In 1973, Hirsch started working in the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n judicial service, first as a public prosecutor from 1975 to 1976, then from 1976 until 1980 as a judge at an Amtsgericht (local district court). After attending a 15-month course on administrative management at the state chancellery of

, he became a presiding judge at a '' Landgericht'' (regional court), serving from 1982 to 1984. Later, he worked at the Bavarian state ministry of justice, where he became an assistant director and the head of the division for legislative planning, constitutional law and European law between 1989 and 1992. He then became the president of diverse courts. From 1 September 1992 to 31 December 1992 he was president of the Bezirksgericht (district court) of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

; from 1993 until 6 October 1994 he was president of the Higher Regional Court of Dresden. From 6 June 1993 to 31 March 1995 he was also president of the Constitutional Court of Saxony. From 1994 to 2000, he was an appointed judge at the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

, as well. From 2000 to January 2008, he was president of the Federal Court of Justice of Germany. He is the vice president of the association of the presidents of the highest courts of justice of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

as well as president of the academy for management and commerce Baden in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

. He is a member of the disciplinary commission of the

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

, a member of academy ethics in medicine, a member of the society for comparative law and a member of the society for public international law. From 1984 to 1994, he was also the secretary-general and vice president of the German society for medical law. Hirsch is an honorary professor for European and medical law at the Saarland University. He has to his credit numerous publications in the fields of criminal law, medical law, public law and European law. Hirsch is married to Marta Hirsch-Ziembiñska, a jurist and diplomat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsch, Gunter 1943 births Living people People from Neuburg an der Donau University of Erlangen–Nuremberg alumni German legal scholars 20th-century German judges European Court of Justice judges German judges of international courts and tribunals Judges of the Federal Court of Justice Jurists from Bavaria 21st-century German judges

Biography

See also

References