A country is strong when the judiciary is strong, according to the unanimous opinion of the participants in the African-Baden-Württemberg legal exchange. Lawyers from the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as from Benin and Tanzania were given a week-long opportunity to gain a deeper insight into the German judicial system in exchange with colleagues from Baden-Württemberg. The program included visits to the Stuttgart and Esslingen district courts, the Federal Court of Justice and the Federal Constitutional Court as well as the State Ministry and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Justice.
The exchange and mutual change of perspective were the focus of the week-long stay in Baden-Württemberg. The aim was to get to know the justice systems of the countries involved better and to provide professional and practical exchanges between all participants. “The exchange with the German tandem partners was very interesting for me, but the exchange with my African colleagues was also very valuable for me,” said judge Issa Maige from Tanzania at the end of the exchange. “I learned a lot about the German judicial administration.”
Verena Alexander, judge at the Stuttgart Regional Court, who also took part in the exchange, describes her motivation as follows: “For me it is a good opportunity to broaden my horizons, come into contact with colleagues from another continent, get to know them and to find out how and under what conditions they work in their respective countries.”
The German-African legal exchange has been taking place since 2014. The project sponsor of the legal exchange is the Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ). “We learn a lot from our partners in the south during this intensive exchange,” says Philipp Keil, Managing Director of the SEZ. “This helps us here in Baden-Württemberg to change our perspective and gives us a different view of Africa and its people.” The exchange is financed by the Baden-Württemberg State Ministry and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Justice and Europe.
At the end of the week-long stay, the lawyers from East Africa took part in the 46th annual conference of the Society for African Law e.V. in Stuttgart.
Background to the SEZ
The Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ) wants to sensitize the population of Baden-Württemberg for globally responsible action and show how everyone can do something for a fairer world. The main topics are fair trade, partnerships between people in Baden-Württemberg and people in the countries of the Global South, global learning and responsible corporate management (CSR).
Press contact:
Beate Wörner
Tel. 0711 / 2 10 29-40
Development Cooperation Foundation
Baden-Württemberg (SEZ)
Werastrasse 24
70182 Stuttgart
