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The Ministry of Justice has drafted a bill entirely in female form. This creates resistance in the coalition. The Interior Ministry considers the project “probably unconstitutional”.
A bill by Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) on restructuring and insolvency law is causing a stir in Berlin because it contains almost exclusively female formulations.
Instead of writing “administrator”, “consumer” or “debtor” in masculine form, insolvency law says “administrator”, “consumer” and “debtor”. Other terms are also used in the generic feminine. This applies “in particular to legal entities such as the GmbH”, as explained by the Ministry of Justice.
Valid only for women?
The Federal Interior Ministry rejected the bill and demanded a linguistic revision, as a spokesman for the Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) said. As a reason he raised doubts about the constitutionality of a law in which only female forms of language are used. From a formal point of view, this means that the law can only apply to women and is therefore “most likely unconstitutional,” he said.
According to his ministry, the draft “must adapt to current regulations.” This applies “regardless of whether a certain social status is desired”. According to the Ministry of the Interior, these norms establish that “the generic masculine, that is, the use of the masculine way of speaking, is recognized for both male and female persons.” The generic feminine, on the other hand, “is not yet recognized linguistically for use by women and men.”
Actually, a guideline for the formulation of legal provisions regulates: “Conventionally, the grammatically masculine form is used in a generalized way (generic masculine)”. If gender is not important for the respective context, this simplification could be justified.
Legal and language exams are still pending
A bill is the first stage of a law. It is sent to the other departments for a vote before it becomes a bill, which is then passed to the cabinet and then to the Bundestag for discussion and decision.
The Justice Ministry said work on the draft had not yet been completed; Among other things, a legal and language test was still pending. Before it is presented to the cabinet, the draft can still be reviewed. In particular, it does not yet take into account the results of the legal and language test. “In this regard, the draft will be reviewed before it is presented to the cabinet,” said a spokesman. However, he also pointed out that, according to the joint regulations of the federal ministries, the bills “should” also “be expressed” linguistically.
“Federal policy will be able to deal with a bit of gender-equitable language,” said the deputy leader of the SPD parliamentary group, Katja Mast, on the dispute between the departments. Women are still discriminated against in Germany. “I think it’s good that we are now discussing gender equitable language in legal texts and that the ball is rolling,” he said.
Criticisms of the CDU, AfD and the Association of German Language
The CDU Economic Council did not show understanding for the Ministry of Justice’s approach. “Dear Ms. Lambrecht, choose another law for such tricks,” said your general secretary Wolfgang Steiger of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. Time is running out for a reformed bankruptcy law that creates transparency, but the Federal Ministry of Justice is not taking it seriously, “criticized the CDU politician.
The German Language Association (VDS) was also unable to get anything from the ministry’s approach. “The fact that the Ministry of Justice, of all people, has not been able to formulate a legally binding text is a big problem,” said VDS President Walter Krämer. Anyone who uses “this misleading formulation invites you to challenge a law.”
Right-wing AfD politician Stephan Brandner accused Lambrecht of making his ministry “ridiculous.” The ministry’s approach to the bill “is like the defiant behavior of a young child and is anything but worthy of a minister,” Brandner said.
