Fields
of activities
The main area
of my activities are open property questions, i.e. claims according
to the "Act for the regulation of open property questions",
as well as according to the "Act on compensation for victims
of National Socialism". Although all deadlines for submitting
claims have elapsed long ago there is still a lot to do on this
field, as the processing of such claims by the restitution offices
("Ämter für offene Vermögensfragen") is
not yet finished in all cases, as against their decisions often
objections have been raised, and as — if the decisions have
been upheld or rejected by the appelate bodies ("Widerspruchsausschüsse
der Landesämter zur Regelung offener Vermögensfragen")
these has led to claims in the administrative courts.
According to
section 2 para 1 of the property act the Conference on Jewish Material
Claims against Germany, Inc. (JCC) is deemed to be the successor
of all Jewish assets lost under Nazi rule if the original owners
or their heirs did not or not in time submit their claims themselves.
This does not mean, as is often asserted erroneously, that all lost
property goes to the JCC automatically. The JCC too had to adhere
to deadlines for submitting claims to the competent authorities.
Therefore, the
JCC got the possibility to submit new claims for compensation up
to 30 June 2007.
Many Jewish
heirs who had missed the relatively short periods for claiming (31.12.1992
for immovables and 30.06.1993 for other property) therefore turned
to the JCC for help. The JCC had introduced a goodwill programme
out of which the heirs were paid up to 80 % as compensation.
Also here deadlines for claiming have repeatedly been set, the latest
run to 31.03.2004. For several years now there are demands to JCC
to disclaim deadlines altogether and let heirs limitless participate.
A special fund
for late comer was created for the years 2013 and 2014 which is
considered by many as ridiculing the NS-victims.
In connection
with those problems my activities embrace all questions of inheritance
law and the law of real estate.