Unaddressed cases piling up at district attorney's offices on the rise
The German justice system is facing a significant challenge, as the number of pending cases has reached an all-time high of 981,633 by mid-year 2025. This alarming figure, a 3% increase from the previous record high of 950,852 cases at the end of 2024, has been revealed in a survey conducted by the "German Judges' Newspaper" among the justice administrations of the federal states.
At the forefront of this crisis is North Rhine-Westphalia, which currently holds the dubious title of having the most pending cases nationwide. As of June 30, 2025, the state had nearly 267,000 cases, marking an increase of around 40% since the end of 2021. Hamburg follows closely behind, with its number of pending cases almost tripling since the same period in 2021, reaching 64,404 by the end of June 2025.
Saxony's public prosecutors also saw a significant rise, with 45,952 open cases as of June 30, 2025, representing a 54% increase since 2021. Unfortunately, the survey did not provide data specifically about which German federal states had the highest number of open criminal cases in June 2025.
The surge in pending cases has led to many criminal proceedings being drawn out and case dismissals increasing. Sven Rebehn, federal managing director of the Judges' Association, explained the situation, stating that "many criminal proceedings are drawn out, and case dismissals increase due to the high number of pending cases."
In response to this crisis, the German Judges' Association is calling for a swift commitment from the federal states to create new jobs in the justice system. They argue that the criminal justice system must not become a bottleneck in the fight against crime.
The influx of new cases has been relentless, with more than 2.7 million new cases added to the existing backlog in the first six months of 2025. This means that 30,781 new cases were added to the backlog in the first half of 2025 alone.
However, it's important to note that only cases against named suspects were considered in the survey. This means that cases where suspects have not yet been identified or charged are not included in these figures.
The federal government has promised an additional 450 million euros to help alleviate the strain on the justice system. Whether this funding will be enough to tackle the growing backlog remains to be seen.
As the situation continues to evolve, the German justice system faces a critical test in managing this unprecedented caseload and ensuring that justice is served in a timely and efficient manner.
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