Federal Court of Justice

The Federal Court of Justice is the highest court of civil and criminal jurisdiction in Germany. Its primary responsibility is the final appellate review of decisions by lower courts for errors of law. While, legally, decisions by the Federal Court of Justice are only binding with respect to the individual case in which they enter, de facto the court's interpretation of the law is followed by lower courts with almost no exception. Decisions handed down by the Federal Court of Justice can only be vacated by the Federal Constitutional Court for violating a provision of the German constitution, the Basic Law.

In addition to the court's appellate duties, in criminal investigations for a small number of exceptional offenses where the Public Prosecutor General leads the criminal investigation, judges of the Federal Court of Justice act as investigating judges.