May 4
The term Justice of the Peace is used to define informal judges, who neither have been trained as lawyers, nor act within the legal framework of German judiciary. The Justice of Peace act as brokers and mediate between rivaling families, victims and delinquents to avoid violence and bloodshed. For instance when an unmarried Turkish girl runs away with an Arabic boy and the “honor of family” is questioned; Justice of Peace is called to mediate between the families to find a peaceful and reasonable solution.
Islamic “parallel justice” has been a source of grievance and frustration for German judiciary, says German journalist Joachim Wagner who has published a book about the
Justice of the Peace. In his book, he claims “parallel justice” would be a threat for the rule of law as he believes some of these “judges” to be involved in a criminal milieu.
Vice president of the Berlin district court contradicts the discussion about a “parallel justice” and claims that the influence of this institute has been exaggerated. Only a few spectacular cases would cause high attraction for the public audience. Ethno-psychologist Ilhan Kizilhan sees the lack of confidence of migrants in the German judiciary system as a result of fear in their countries of origin. Many migrants come from countries with little tradition of rule of law, where there is little trust towards the judiciary and the police.
