The organization, jurisdiction, and procedure of the judicial system, as in all the German States, is regulated by the Imperial Judicature Act of 1877. The territorial competence of the courts and the appointment and compensation of the judges, however, is a matter of State regu lation. The Prussian Constitution requires that the judges shall be appointed by the King for life, and they can 1w removed, retired, or trans ferred to other districts only by resolution of the courts themselves. Their position is one of in dependence as over against the Administration. They are admitted to the judicial service only after the completion of a prescribed course of study and preparatery service and after passing two State examinations. The highest courts in Prussia are the Oberlandesgerichte, of which there are fifteen in number, the one at Berlin being known as the Rammergericht. The next lower grade of courts are the Landesgeriehte, and at the bottom of the judicial hierarchy are the Amtsyerichte or magistrates' courts. For the trial of minor criminal offenses the magistrate associates with himself two laymen called Nehiiffen. For the trial of more serious offenses jury courts (Schtrztrger•ichte) are constituted in connection with the Landesgeriehte. They con sist of a bench of three judges and twelve jurors, the latter being selected from a list of eligibles prepared before the beginning of each year. The Imperial Court at Leipzig serves as a final court of appeal from the State courts. (For a more detailed account of the judicial system, see GEn3lAx v.) Besides the ordinary courts mentioned above there are a number of special courts ( besoudere Gerichte), which the indi vidual States may or may not establish. Such are the industrial courts, the communal courts, agrarian courts, etc. Moreover, as a result of the so-called separation of justice from adminis tration in Prussia in the early part of the nine teenth century, Prussia has a system of adminis trative courts charged with the adjudication of administrative controversies. As a result of the legislation of 1875 there are three grades of administrative tribunals, viz. the Superior Ad ministrative Court ( Oberreriraltu»gsgerieht), the Circle Committee, and the District Commit tee. The first mentioned is composed of an equal number of judges and trained administrators ap pointed by the King for life. thus insuring them a position of greater independence than is the case with the judges of the French administrative courts. This court has its seat at Berlin and is a tribunal of great influence and popularity. To settle conflicts of jurisdiction that arise between the judicial and administrative courts a 'compe tence conflict' tribunal is provided. This court has its seat at Berlin and consists of eleven members, six of whom are judges of the Ober landesgericht.
The present system of local government in Prussia dates back to the year 1807, but has undergone numerous reforms, culminating in the noted Kreisordnung of Professor Gnei-t. which became law in 1872. As a result of this legis lation the sphere of local autonomy was ex tended, a judicial control over the action of the administrative authorities was provided for, with a view of preventing abuses which had become quite frequent, and a large non-professional ser vice, for the most part compulsory and unpaid, was introduced into the administration with a view of diminishing the influence of the bureau cracy, and at the same time of increasing the political capacity of the people, who were shut out from the civil service on account of its highly professional character and the consequent difficulty of gaining admission thereto. A dis tinctive principle of Prussian administration is the separation of local activities into two classes: those which are regarded as of general concern, such as the management of schools, police, and religious worship; and those of purely local con cern, such as the management of highways, the care of local institutions, etc. For the adminis
tration of the first class the State is divided into administrative units, in each of which are to be found central officers under control of the Minis ters at Berlin. For purely local administration there are local corporations with their own prop erty and officials. The late reforms have in most cases made the boundaries of the central and local units conterminous and consolidated the central and local authorities in the same area.
For the purpose of administration. Prussia is divided into twelve provinces, not artificial, but historical units. These are subdivided into Gov ernment districts (Regierungsbezirke), from two to six in each, thirty-five in all. The districts are divided into circles (Kreisc). Below the circle are the justice of the peace district (Ands bezirk) and the commune (Gemeinde). In the province there are two sets of Government offi cials, one central and the other local. The chief central officer is the Oberprusident, a purely pro fessional official, somewhat like the French pre fect, appointed and dismissed by the King and subject to the oversight and direction of the Ministers at Berlin. He exercises supervision over a number of subordinate officials, presides over various boards, and attends to the adminis tration of those affairs which concern the prov ince as a whole, such as relate to the police, religious worship, schools, public health, etc. Associated with the Oberpriisident in the ad ministration of matters of central concern in the province is the provincial council (Prot:in:inf consisting of the Oberpriisident as Chair man, a professional life member appointed by the Minister of the Interior, and of five un salaried lay members chosen by the Provincial Committee (a popular body) for a term of six years. The council exercises a certain control over the Oberpriisident : its consent is necessary to the validity of his ordinances; it hears appeals from the decisions of certain lower organs, and performs a variety of miscellaneous duties.
The organs for the administration of matters of purely local concern in the province are the Provincial Diet (Landfall), the Provincial Com mittee, and the Director. The Landtag is the legislative assembly of the province and is com posed of members elected for a term of six years by the Diets of the rural circles and by the munic ipal councils of the urban circles within the prov ince. They are distributed among the circles of the province on the basis of population and one third retire every third year. The Landtag is sum moned in regular session by the Crown biennially, and oftener when necessity requires. Its duties relate to the organization and management of pro vincial institutions, the election of local officers, the voting of appropriations and taxes, and the enactment of by-laws on various subjects. The Provincial Committee is the local executive au thority for the province and is composed of from seven to fourteen unsalaried members elect ed by the Landtag for a term of six years. Its chief duty is the enforcement of the measures of the Landtag, and the chief officer through whom it acts is the director, a salaried minis terial official elected by the Landtag and con firmed by the King. It will be seen from the above description of the provincial administra tion that a complete separation of the provincial and local functions of administration is observed.