Josef Christ Of Counsel

Of Counsel Josef Christ

Qualifications

Lawyer, Former judge of the Federal Constitutional Court, former vice president of the Federal Administrative Court, Diploma in Public Administration

Areas of expertise

Special sector knowledge

  • Energy, infrastructure & environment
  • Life Sciences
  • Public & Social Sector

Languages

  • German
  • English

Brief biography

  • Since November 2025 Forvis Mazars (formerly Mazars)
  • 2017 - 2025 Judge at the Federal Constitutional Court
  • 2008 - 2017 Judge at the Federal Administrative Court, Vice President of the Federal Administrative Court since 2014
  • 2001 - 2008 Judge at the Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg
  • 2007 - 2008 Secondment to the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg
  • 1990 - 2001 Judge at the Administrative Court of Karlsruhe
  • 1996 - 1999 Secondment as research assistant at the Federal Constitutional Court
  • 1993 - 1995 Secondment to the Federal Chancellery in Bonn
  • 1990 Second state law examination
  • 1989 Doctorate from the University of Heidelberg
  • 1982 - 1986 Studied law at the University of Heidelberg
  • 1977 - 1981 Training as a graduate in public administration at the University of Public Administration in Kehl

Profile

Former Federal Constitutional Court judge Dr. Josef Christ has been Of Counsel at Forvis Mazars since November 2025 and is responsible for strategic consulting at the interface between government, regulation, and business. His focus is on complex mandates in the areas of public commercial law, infrastructure planning, government support through participation in major regulatory proceedings, for example, and advising public institutions, companies, and associations.

Dr. Josef Christ previously worked as an administrative judge and was seconded to the Federal Chancellery in Bonn, the Federal Constitutional Court as a research assistant, and the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg. In 2008, he was appointed judge at the Federal Administrative Court; from 2014 to 2017, he was Vice President of the Federal Administrative Court and Chairman of the 8th Revision Senate (responsible for public commercial law, among other things). On September 5, 2017, Dr. Josef Christ was elected by the German Bundestag as a judge of the Federal Constitutional Court (First Senate); he held this office until October 7, 2025.

Dr. Josef Christ has decades of experience in the highest offices of the German judiciary, as well as a deep understanding of state structures and political decision-making processes, and comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of public law and constitutional law.

Publications

  • Das Bundesverfassungsgericht als "neutrales Schiedsgericht" im Kampf der Meinungen und Interessen, NVwZ 2024, 689 ff.
  • Die wehrhafte Demokratie des Grundgesetzes, VBlBW 2024, 177 ff.
  • Chancengleichheit durch schulische Bildung, Beitrag zur Festschrift für Rainer Schlegel 2024 (Die Zukunft des Rechts- und Sozialstaats)
  • Der Klimaschutzbeschluss des Bundesverfassungsgerichts - Mögliche Konsequenzen und Handlungsalternativen, NVwZ 2023, 1193 ff.
  • Schulschließungen in der Pandemie und das Recht auf schulische Bildung, NVwZ 2023, 1 ff.
  • Neue Schuldenregel für den Gesamtstaat: Instrument zur mittelfristigen Konsolidierung der Staatsfinanzen, NVwZ 2009, 1333 ff.
  • Die Umlegung als Instrument des privatnützigen Ausgleichs der Eigentümerinteressen, DVBl 2002, 1517 ff.
     
  • Mitherausgeber Christ/Oebbecke, Handbuch Kommunalabgabenrecht, 2. Auflage 2022
  • Mitherausgeber Neue Zeitschrift für Verwaltungsrecht, Beck-Verlag.

Lecturing/teaching positions

  • Examiner for the Second State Law Examination in Baden-Württemberg

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