Lower Saxony: Extremists should fly out of civil service faster!

Lower Saxony: Extremists should fly out of civil service faster!

in Lower Saxony, it is very important when it comes to the security and integrity of the civil service. On June 17, 2025, the state government presented a draft law to amend the disciplinary law, which pursues the goal of removing officials who violate the constitutional duty of constitutional duty. Interior Minister Daniela Behrens sums it up: "Extremists in civil service are not tolerated." The reform could gain importance in the context of the AfD and the activities of the protection of the constitution, such as regionalheute.de

The innovation is particularly explosive that severe disciplinary measures, such as layoffs, can no longer be ordered by courts, but directly by the authorities. This saves time and detours, because disciplinary proceedings have been on average four years, and trust in the public service suffers from extremist incidents. In the recent reforms, zdfheute.de that the new regulation comes into force on April 1st should.

New concept for disciplinary measures

The reform of the disciplinary law not only provides faster processing, but also stipulates that disciplinary authorities may in future be able to inquire about the protection of the constitution whether there are indications of anti -constitutional activities of civil servants. This could be crucial to uncover extremist efforts at an early stage and take appropriate measures. In the past, extremist incidents, such as the activities of the “Reichsbürger” sect, have caused a sensation and illustrated the need for this reform. In a report on constitutional blog.de

In addition, authorities are now given the opportunity to issue disciplinary orders against extremist civil servants themselves. Certainly not an easy undertaking, but the legislator has emphasized that each case is checked critically and that the disposal is subsequently checked by the administrative court. This means that the protection of civil servants remains guaranteed, while clear signals are sent against extremism.

The background and effects

The reform reacts to the significant small number of disciplinary measures in the past. In 2021, for example, only 373 disciplinary measures were imposed in the federal administration, which corresponds to less than 0.2 percent of the approximately 190,000 civil servants in the federal government. According to the Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser, the need for a more effective approach became obvious to effectively combat extremism in the public service.

This reform is not only a crucial step for Lower Saxony, but could also win a model for other federal states in the future. So while Lower Saxony is taking impressive pace here, other federal states will also be required to take appropriate measures in order to restore trust in the civil service. The effects of these changes are observed with tension, both at state and federal level.