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Behind Closed Doors

hinter verschlossenen Türen — behind closed doors. At the cabinet retreat at Meseberg in March 2023, the news agency dpa wrote: Ausgeruhte Gespräche hinter verschlossener Tür scheinen nötig. Rested talks behind a closed door seem necessary.

hinter den Kulissen — behind the scenes. The same report recalled the early days of the coalition, als strittige Themen in erster Linie hinter den Kulissen ausgefochten wurden, when disputed topics were fought out mainly behind the scenes.

in Klausur gehen — to go into closed session. A Klausurtagung is a meeting closed to the public. The word comes from Latin clausura, closure. In German, Klausur also names the part of a monastery that outsiders may not enter.

The Soldier’s Mediator

A German soldier who feels personally offended can call a Vermittler, a mediator, before filing a formal complaint, if a friendly settlement seems possible. That is § 4 of the Military Complaints Regulation. The soldier chooses a fellow soldier he personally trusts. The direct superiors of either side may not mediate.

The mediator is to learn the facts in persönlichem Benehmen mit den Beteiligten, in personal contact with those involved, and to seek a settlement. Instead, the soldier can ask the other person for an Aussprache, a talk to clear the air, and the other must let him state his view. One form is ruled out entirely. Gemeinschaftliche Beschwerden sind unzulässig. Joint complaints are not allowed.

Strictly Confidential

Disputes over good research practice in Germany can go to the Ombudsgremium für die wissenschaftliche Integrität in Deutschland, the ombuds committee for research integrity. Its rules of procedure of January 2025 state: Alle an das Ombudsgremium gerichteten Anfragen und Verfahren werden streng vertraulich behandelt. All requests and procedures are treated strictly confidentially.

The committee acts as adviser and mediator, and it imposes no sanctions. It can hold Einzelgespräche, individual talks, as well as talks with the parties together. In 2016, under its earlier name, it explained why it insists on secrecy. Ohne die Sicherung absoluter Vertraulichkeit sind Ombudsverfahren nicht möglich. Without absolute confidentiality, ombuds procedures are not possible.

The Council of Elders

The Bundestag debates in public. When the parliamentary groups clash over the agenda, the dispute can go to the Ältestenrat, the council of elders. It can meet at once, and the plenary sitting is then interrupted. The Bundestag calls the council der Ort, an dem aufgetretene Streitigkeiten besprochen und geschlichtet werden, the place where disputes that have arisen are discussed and settled.

When it works to bring the groups to agreement, the council is kein Beschlussorgan, not a body that takes decisions. The Bundestag’s rules of procedure state that its sessions follow den Grundsatz der Vertraulichkeit, the principle of confidentiality.

The Coalition Committee

When the parties of a German governing coalition disagree on fundamental questions, they take the dispute to the Koalitionsausschuss, the coalition committee. It is an informal body. The Basic Law does not provide for it. German Wikipedia cites a study arguing that it suits conflict better than the cabinet, because the small group know each other and are verschwiegen, discreet.

In March 2023 the leaders of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP met in the Chancellery from Sunday to Tuesday, for about 30 hours net. Winfried Kretschmann, the Green premier of Baden-Württemberg, said that holding 19-hour sessions was indeed ein Zeichen von Führungsschwäche des Kanzlers, a sign of weak leadership by the chancellor.

Offender and Victim, One at a Time

The Täter-Opfer-Ausgleich, the offender-victim settlement, is a mediation between the offender and the victim of a crime. A leaflet of the Berlin justice service describes the order. Es werden zuerst Einzelgespräche mit den Beteiligten geführt. First, individual talks are held with those involved. A joint talk with the mediator may follow, unless a meeting seems impossible.

The North Rhine-Westphalia justice ministry adds that the joint talk takes place only if both sides agree. An NRW information sheet says that if a joint talk is not possible or not wanted, the mediator can hold further individual talks and pass the results on.

The Child Speaks to the Judge

In German custody cases, the judge must as a rule hear the child personally and form a personal impression of the child. Hearings in family matters are not public. The court may admit the public, but not against the will of a party.

The law leaves it to the judge whether the parents are present. In 2019 the Federal Constitutional Court raised no objection to the view of the Federal Court of Justice and legal commentators that their presence is regelmäßig nicht sachgerecht, as a rule not appropriate, because the child then cannot speak freely. In hearings on danger to a child, the court can also hold the discussion in the absence of one parent.

Rebuke Your Neighbor

In Luther’s Bible, the command to love one’s neighbor comes in the verse after a command to rebuke him. Du sollst deinen Bruder nicht hassen in deinem Herzen, sondern du sollst deinen Nächsten zurechtweisen, damit du nicht seinetwegen Schuld auf dich lädst. You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall rebuke your neighbor, so that you do not bear guilt because of him. Du sollst deinen Nächsten lieben wie dich selbst. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. In the Gospel of Matthew, the rebuke is private. Sündigt aber dein Bruder, so geh hin und weise ihn zurecht zwischen dir und ihm allein. Hört er auf dich, so hast du deinen Bruder gewonnen. If your brother sins, go and point out his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.

Criticism After a Win

In autumn 2012, after a 2:0 win over Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich’s sporting director Matthias Sammer said the team had not played gallig enough, with enough bite, and had been lätschern, limp. Coach Jupp Heynckes disagreed with how he had done it, and told him so. Mit der Form, der Art und Weise war ich nicht einverstanden. Das habe ich ihm auch gesagt. I did not agree with the form and the manner. I told him that too. Er weiß, dass es wichtig ist, diese Dinge in geschlossenen Räumen anzusprechen. He knows it is important to raise these things behind closed doors. That season Bayern won the league, the cup and the Champions League.

The Mediation Committee

When the Bundestag and the Bundesrat disagree on a law, Article 77 of the Basic Law provides for a joint committee. The Vermittlungsausschuss, the mediation committee, has 32 members. Sixteen come from the Bundestag, and each of the sixteen states has one seat. The members from the states are not bound by instructions from their governments. The sessions are confidential. The Bundestag describes what happens once the committee is called: Es beginnt die Suche nach Kompromissen, um das Gesetz „zu retten“. The search for compromises begins, to “save” the law. The result is an Einigungsvorschlag, a proposal for agreement, and the chambers then decide on it. The committee is needed most when the two chambers have different majorities. It was called 102 times between 2002 and 2005, and three times between 2013 and 2017.