“Rechte Richter” (“Right-Wing Judges”; no English edition so far) is a book published in 2022 by journalist and trained lawyer Joachim Wagner. Its subtitle asks the question: “A danger to the rule of law?”
Wagner is referring to cases like that of Jens Maier, who was a member of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party between 2017 and 2021. After his spell in parliament, he wanted to return to his post as a judge in the eastern state of Saxony.
This, however, didn’t happen, because Saxony’s Justice Minister Katja Meier took the matter to court and was successful: Maier, categorized as a right-wing extremist by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), was sent into early retirement. The verdict is not yet final, however, because the suspended judge can appeal the decision.
