Brandenburg's Constitutional Court President believes AfD judges are possible under certain conditions

The chairman of the Brandenburg Constitutional Court, Markus Möller, believes that an AfD constitutional judge is possible under certain conditions. “I believe the Constitutional Court can live with all judges who are prepared to get involved in the issues here without it being about crude ideology,” Möller told “Tagesspiegel”, “Nordkurier” and “Prignitzer” when asked: Could the Constitutional Court live with a judge with an AfD party record?

“Anyone who is prepared to engage in discussions about arguments, to sacrifice their time and not just put on party-political glasses will get along well with us. And we’ll be able to cope with that,” says Möller. According to the President of the Constitutional Court, this includes a basic commitment to the free and democratic basic order.

“We are an institution that was created by the democratic constitutional state to ensure compliance with the constitution by the government, but also by parliament,” said Möller when asked whether a basic commitment to the free-democratic basic order is needed. “And in a constitutional state based on the separation of powers, it is simply necessary to commit to the fundamental values ​​of our state and social order.”

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the AfD in Brandenburg as firmly right-wing extremist. The AfD is taking legal action against this.

The term of office of six judges runs until 2029

The Brandenburg Constitutional Court is currently dealing with several lawsuits from the AfD and the AfD parliamentary group. “It may be that the procedures may have served other purposes. But I can’t judge that,” said the president. “In any case, the AfD is making use of the means that the constitution opens up to it.”

The Constitutional Court has nine members who work on a voluntary basis, including three laypeople. The writer and lawyer Juli Zeh is one of them. The judges are elected by the state parliament with a two-thirds majority. Möller has been at the head of Brandenburg's highest court since 2019. According to him, the terms of office of six of the nine constitutional judges expire in 2029. So far, no judge has come from the AfD.