• Courts and tribunals judging criminal matters
  • General rule
  • Special rule
    • Juvenile matters
• Courts and tribunals judging civil matters
  • General rule
  • Specific rules:
    • Role of courts and tribunals
    • Commercial register
    • Juvenile matters
• Military jurisdictions

Courts and tribunals judging criminal matters

• Police court
• Correctional court
• Juvenile court
• Court of assizes
• Court of appeal (correctional chamber and juvenile chambers)
• Crown prosecutor’s office
• General prosecutor’s office

General rule:

• Not older than 100 years: Authorisation of competent general prosecutor required
• Older than 100 years: Freely accessible

Special rule: Juvenile court (criminal matters)

• For sub-files pertaining to the personality and living environment of the prosecuted person, an explicit access authorisation issued by a public prosecutor is also required.

Courts and tribunals judging civil matters

• Justice of the peace
• Civil court
• Family court
• Court of Commerce (Business Court since 1 November 2018)
• Labour court
• Court of Laour (appeals)
• Court of appeal (civil chambers)
• Tribunals and Courts of war damages

General rule

• Not older than 30 years: Authorisation by head clerk of the court in question required
• Older than 30 years but not freely accessible due to legal restrictions, for example with regard to the protection of privacy and personal data: Authorisation from National Archivist or his/her representative and signed research declaration required.
• Older than 30 years but without legal restrictions: freely accessible

Specific rules:

• Freely accessible public records

  • General role of courts and tribunals judging civil matters

  • Commercial register

• Juvenile matters

  • Juvenile court (Family court since 1 September 2014)
    Court of appeal, juvenile chambers (family chambers since 1 September 2014)
  • Not older than 100 years: Authorisation of general prosecutor or crown prosecutor required
  • Older than 100 years: freely accessible

Military jurisdictions

• Not older than 100 years: authorisation of the College of general prosecutors required
• Older than 100 years: freely accessible
• More information