Reichsjustizamt (English: "Office for National Justice") was the highest authority of the law in the German Empire, and was the predecessor of ''Reichsministerium der Justiz'', the

Reich Ministry of Justice ''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word " realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (l ...

. Reichsjustizamt was under the jurisdiction of the ''Reichskanzler'' or Imperial Chancellor as Department IV from 1875 until 1 January 1877 when it became independent. Under Reichsjustizamt were the Imperial Court, the Imperial Bar, and the Imperial Patent Office. An

Undersecretary of State Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

managed the Reichsjustizamt. It continued becoming the ''Reichsministerium der Justiz'' in 1919.

References

*Kenneth F. Ledford. ''From General Estate to Special Interest: German Lawyers 1878-1933.'' Cambridge University Press, Nov 2, 2006 pg. 75 *Hans Schulte-Nölke. ''Das Reichsjustizamt und die Entstehung des Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuchs'' (IUS COMMUNE, Veröffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte, Vol. 71), Klostermann, Frankfurt/Main 1995, XIX, 378 pp {{Authority control Politics of the German Empire