Restoring Administrations of Justice in Early Practice: American-Occupied Germany, 1945-1949

This work examines the reconstruction of the administration of justice in the American occupation zone after the end of the Second World War, as an example of one of the first times in history when this process was attempted. All German governmental institutions had collapsed following the unconditional surrender of the National Socialist regime. The American military government thereafter sought to reconstruct German judicial institutions in the consequent vacuum in its occupation zone. Occupation law, U.S. military government courts and measures for the restoration of justice were instituted while the states of the zone were re-established. State judicial organisations were restored simultaneously in the form of the denazification of German law and re-opening German courts while judicial personnel were vetted before staffing the administration of justice. The state judicial organisations regained independence as jurisdictional responsibility was transferred to them until the end of the military occupation and the Federal Republic of Germany was established.