German Administrative Lawyer

Legal Solutions Made in Germany

German Administrative Lawyer

Legal Solutions Made in Germany

The German administrative law, which regulates the relationship between the state (usually represented by a public authority) and – on the other side – the citizen, is characterised by its immense complexity. To provide our clients with the support they need, the law firm Schlun & Elseven offers competent and committed legal assistance.

Regardless of whether your concern is a building permit, the allocation of a day-care place or a challenge to a school examination – whenever you want to take action against the decision of a public authority, our German lawyers are there to support you with their sound specialist knowledge and many years of experience in dealing with the authorities and administrative courts. We take care of the legal side of your case and keep a firm eye on the deadline for objections and the urgency that your activities require. We stand up for you to protect your rights and interests.

Our Services

  • Construction plans | Dedication

  • Examination law

  • Immigration law  

  • Municipal law issues

  • Municipal tax law

General information on German Administrative Law

As part of public law, administrative law regulates the legal relations between citizens and the state in Germany. It provides the legal basis for all federal, state and local authorities. The relationship between citizen and state is often one of tension, as the state is, in a sense, superior to the citizen. For example, the state can make decisions binding on citizens if they do not object to them in due time.

Municipal Tax Law

One area of our services in administrative law includes full-service relating to municipal tax law. Municipal charges are the cash payments that are compulsorily made to cover the public financial needs of a public-law entity. All municipalities, cities, districts or associations of municipalities in Germany are entitled to levy them on persons or companies established in their catchment area. Municipal charges are essentially split up into

  • municipal taxes: such as trade tax and real estate tax, which may vary depending on the municipal statutes.
  • Fees: payments that are incurred as a result of services provided by a public corporation or for the use of public facilities. These include user fees such as radio licence fees or fees for waste collection, but also general administrative fees, e.g. for notarisation or permits.
  • Municipal contributions and charges: reimbursement of expenses for the use of a specific service provided by a public institution. This includes, for example, costs for the development of building plots and local tourist tax.

In this area of tax law, it can often be unclear whether the amounts and fees have been calculated correctly. It is an area in which mistakes often occur. In addition, it may be doubtful whether a payment was appropriate in the specific individual case, e.g. if payment is to be made for a non-functional facility, or unjustified development contributions are demanded.

Since the municipal statutes on municipal charges can always change and administrative practice and jurisdiction are therefore subject to rapid change, it is recommended to engage an attorney for administrative law to defend against an unlawful tax assessment notice. As an administrative act, a tax assessment notice can first be challenged with an objection to the authority.

Once the objection procedure has been completed and the authority has issued an objection notice, you can then take legal action before the administrative courts. In this way, an illegal tax assessment can be challenged and at the same time the legality of the tax statutes can be reviewed. Our lawyer Jürgen Klunker is available to you at any time for extrajudicial advice on all questions of municipal tax law and for the judicial defence of payment claims arising from public tax assessments.

Examination Law and Challenges under Administrative law

As part of administrative law, examination law is another legal field in which we offer our legal services. In particular, we will assist you in disputing school-leaving exams, university examinations and examinations for further vocational training. This is because serious errors can creep in at many levels during the evaluation of examination performances, which can make the examiners’ assessment incorrect and illegal. The following errors can be decisive for an examination challenge:

  • Violations of the examination regulations: if the prescribed examination time was not adhered to or if a recording of the oral examination provided for in the examination regulations did not take place,
  • infringements of the general administrative procedure: where the examiner is biased or where no reasons are given for an evaluation decision,
  • deficiencies in the content of the performance evaluation: if subjects are examined which are not provided for in the examination regulations or if an inserted text supplement is disregarded, as well as arithmetical errors when determining the score.

This list is by no means exhaustive but is only intended to provide individual examples. In any case, it is evident that auditors can often make considerable mistakes in the evaluation of examination performances.

For high school graduates, students as well as professionals in further education, final examinations are of great importance for their future career path. Therefore, an examination appeal should definitely be considered if such an error is known or suspected. If you need further information on how to contest an examination and you feel the need to check whether your examination can also be contested or whether the assessment was erroneous, please contact our lawyer for administrative law Jürgen Klunker.

Public Streets & Roads Law

Public streets & roads law regulates the legal relationships of roads, paths and squares dedicated to gene