Endless backlog of cases: Why Germany's criminal justice system is currently in dangerous disarray

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It sounds like a bad joke, but it is deadly serious: while perpetrators are being investigated outside, more and more cases are piling up inside government agencies and courts. Not just a few, but in numbers that are slowly throwing the system out of sync. The German Judges Association and the police union are therefore publicly warning of a tipping point—and this time it is not the usual whining, but a look at figures that cannot be dismissed.

One million open cases—how does something like that happen?

For years, public prosecutors have been faced with an enormous number of new cases. For 2025, there is talk of around 5.5 million newly registered criminal cases – the third consecutive year in this league. But the real problem is the backlog: by the end of 2025, the trademark one million unresolved cases is expected to be exceeded for the first time.

By way of comparison, a few years ago the figure was significantly lower. The jump is so big that we can no longer talk about "bad months," but rather a structural, ongoing problem. The German Judges Association attributes this primarily to a shortage of personnel: nationwide, there is said to be a shortage of around 2,000 prosecutors and criminal judges. In other words, there is more work, but not enough people who can handle it reliably and quickly enough.

When proceedings take too long, things get really dicey.

In criminal law, time has its own explosive power. This is because there are strict limits on pre-trial detention: if proceedings drag on for too long, suspects may have to be released—even if the charges are serious. This is precisely what the German Judges Association is pointing out, citing a specific number of cases in 2025 in which releases are expected to occur due to excessive length of proceedings.

This is illustrated by a well-known case in Berlin: there, it was not a matter of a lack of evidence, but rather a process that was simply not completed quickly enough. The result: premature release from custody, even though the case was serious. For those affected, this is a shocking moment. For the state, it sends an embarrassing signal: it is not the crime that matters, but the speed with which the files are processed.

What is needed now – and why "just digitizing" is not enough

The police union describes the situation as dramatic and calls for the entire chain to be strengthened: police, public prosecutors, courts. One point is made very clear: technology can provide support, but it cannot replace people. If there are too few skilled workers, a new system will at best make the mountain look prettier, but it will not make it any smaller.

At the same time, politicians and lawyers are proposing a second idea: to relieve the burden on the system by no longer prosecuting certain types of mass offenses, such as traveling without a ticket. The idea is that fewer minor cases will take up less time, freeing up capacity for more serious crimes and faster proceedings.

The critical commentary at the end

The worst thing about this development is not the large number. It is the message it sends: those who are patient enough will benefit from the congestion. Those who are victims will wait. Those who are accused are left hanging in limbo forever. And the state acts like an operator who has overbooked its own system. If politicians are serious about the rule of law, they must not treat it like a cost-cutting project. Otherwise, "justice" will eventually become nothing more than "processing in order of receipt" – and that is not the rule of law, that is queue management.

Source: lto.de