#rpTEN Speaker Federal Judge Thomas Fischer
Last year, a Berlin judge was quoted in the Frankfurter Allgemeinen newspaper mocking Thomas Fischer as the "explainer-in-chief of the German legal system". Federal judge Thomas Fischer quickly fired back, calling him a "municipal judge, who lacks analytical depth". Fischer is always looking to engage with other judges, scientists and advocates but he's not one to avoid disputes. Some have even called him the "intellectual motor of Germany's Federal Court of Justice".
Fischer will be attending re:publica 2016 to talk about how the digitisation of communication is changing criminality and the perception of it. The gap between set, tangible law and its public interpretation is growing at rate rarely seen in other social arenas. "People see themselves exposed to global, uncontrollable risks and hope to alleviate their fears by turning to the controllable space of criminal justice and calling for ever more punitive punishments", says fed. judge Fischer, calling it "irrational ambivalence".
His writings are among the most important commentaries on criminal justice. He also makes a broad impact through his weekly statements and efforts to increase the quality of - and ability for - discourse in German society, which is often fragmented across social networks. Those not thrilled by the usually sobering style of conventional juristic texts will appreciate his weekly column Fischer im Recht. He uses it to openly and humorously voice his legal opinions on refugees, the Sebastian Edathy case and other issues, which deeply affect the wider public.
Fischer, however, doesn't see himself as a classic blogger. "I'm not really a well-versed web blogger or anything like that. In fact, some things are rather outlandish to me", he said of the re:publica concept, when we first invited him last year.
Fischer was attracted to criminal justice because he was fascinated by the perpetual moral process, in which norms are created, enforced and forfeited. Today, he is a presiding judge in Germany's Federal Court of Justice. Entrusted with presiding in the judicial senate, his attitudes and personal convictions inform his legal judgements, influence the FCJ and give structure to his open publications.
While this lucid directness could be interpreted as severity, his witty and challenging writings reflect the interesting twists and turns of Fischer's own life. Prior to his judicial career, he worked as a carpenter, musician and driver. He lived in a music commune in Worms for two years and tried his luck as a pop musician. In 1986 he published his doctorate thesis on the topic of peace and expression. Maybe it needs an awkward type like Fischer, to make the perceived dullness of the legal system a bit more interesting. He reflects and questions, forms his own opinions and expresses them – even to the chagrin of his listeners. We look forward to May 2016!
Photo by Michael Herdlein