Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany)

The Federal Ministry of Justice (, ), abbreviated BMJ, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Under the German federal system, individual States are most responsible for the administration of justice and the application of penalties. The Federal Ministry of Justice devotes itself to creating and changing law in the classic core areas related to Constitutional law. The Ministry also analyzes the legality and constitutionality of laws prepared by other ministries. The German Federal Court of Justice, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (GPTO), and the German Patent Court all fall under its scope, including affairs on court administration. The ministry is officially located in Berlin.

The BMJ was founded on 1 January 1877 as the Imperial Justice Office (''Reichsjustizamt''). After Germany became a republic in 1919, it was renamed ''Reichsministerium der Justiz'' (Imperial ministry of Justice). The ministry was refounded as the ''Bundesministerium der Justiz'' in 1949. In several laws predating 1949, the ministry and the minister are however referred to as ''Reichsministerium der Justiz'' and ''Reichsminister der Justiz'', respectively. This has gradually been replaced with the new name and title when laws have been amended, most recently in 2010. Provided by Wikipedia