All I know about court dress in Germany is that I’ve seen a lawyer who had not yet put his gown on in the Landgericht (higher court of first instance) treated as if he were not there, which reminded me of the English custom where the judge says in reply to the improperly dressed lawyer, ‘I can’t hear you, Mr X’. There aren’t any robing rooms in German courts as far as I know.

Udo’s law blog today comments on the Mannesmann trial that the lawyers should traditionally be wearing white ties, but they aren’t. Here’s an English summary:

bq. Traditionally, a white tie is worn by defence counsel in the courtroom. (Photo of Sven Thomas, Klaus Esser’s lawyer, wearing a yellow tie). A journalist who was in the courtroom confirmed to me that the other lawyers almost without exception are wearing coloured ties. I usually wear a white tie on the first day of the trial if I don’t know how tolerant the court is. Afterwards I wear a coloured tie if I have the feeling that there are any objections – because if there are, it would not be in my client’s interest.

In the comments, there is one by Udo Steger, who reports on his experience as a trainee:

bq. Basic rule: the older the judge(s), the more formal the dress. The higher the court, the more formal the dress.
Amtsgericht (local court): usually doesn’t matter unless it is a pullover and jeans; older judges prefer to see a gown. No trainers.
Landgericht (regional court): dark suit, white/blue shirt, discreet tie, almost all judges insist on the gown. Shoes with leather soles.
Oberlandesgericht (higher regional court and above): Black suit, white shirt, white tie, black shoes with leather sole
Arbeitsgericht (labour court, like industrial tribunal): Slightly, but only slightly, better dressed than the union secretary.

Udo Vetter adds a few details:

bq. The white tie is/was only in criminal matters, Landgericht and above, and at higher courts (Oberlandesgericht, Bundesgerichtshof/Federal Court of Justice).
In civil matters, to say nothing of the Arbeitsgericht, no-one takes any notice.
Gown is mandatory everywhere except at the Amtsgericht.
White tie is OK, but outside court you feel as if you were in fancy dress.

In England, barristers carry their stuff around in a cloth bag with a tin for the wig. You might see them walking from the Law Courts in London to their chambers in court dress, but they will normally remove the party gear before leaving court.

I expect Adrian will tell me how far barristers are obliged to wear black suits, or often black jackets with pinstriped trousers (if male).

Earlier entries about court dress in Germany and England.

Languagehat reports the following correction from the International Herald Tribune, printed in this week’s New Yorker:

bq. Because of a translation error, an article in some editions Thursday misquoted Monica Frassoni, a member of the European Parliament, as comparing Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, to Attila the Hun. Frassoni, who represents a Belgian constituency but who spoke in Italian, said Berlusconi had arrived “alla guida dell’unione.” This was translated as “at the tiller of the union” which was misheard as “Attila.”

It looks as if the original IHT article is an old one, reporting the European Parliament session in July 2003 when Berlusconi implied that a German MEP was a Nazi. So the Thursday in question was Thursday, July 3rd. Presumably it is only the New Yorker report that is recent.

Bikes outside the station.

A new German phone box.

Metal and glass banks.

A Litfaßsäule (advertisement pillar).

I think it’s standard practice for professional associations not to recommend prices, as this is in restraint of trade. I recall the American Translators Association were investigated many years ago by the FTC and have been very cautious since then.

At all events, a newspaper article has been syndicated to various papers all over Germany in which the BDÜ is wrongly stated to have recommended a price per line to charge. I wasn’t going to blog it, but it refuses to die. Here’s one of the articles.

There has also been an article in the fortnightly German computer magazine c’t, about how expensive German versions of software are, because of the costs of localization. That appeared in the 12th January issue and is not online. c’t is an excellent, serious magazine. It has a few past articles translated into English, but I’ve never looked at them. This article referred to a figure of 1 euro per line ‘as quoted by the BDÜ’. I can’t find anyone who knows where the c’t writer got this from.

The former article has been refuted, the latter I’m not sure. Robin Stocks had an entry in Carob (scroll down to 17th January, ‘Odd price data from BDÜ’ – with links). And Richard Schneider’s Nachrichtenportal has even more, on January 14th (in German).

One of the statements credited to Norbert Koschyk of the BDÜ is that almost one in every nine translators is a freelance – of course, it’s about the other way round. He is also wrongly said to have said that an average of 1 euro is earned per line of 55 characters (including spaces!) He did not say this, and he did tell the journalist he spoke to that the BDÜ is not allowed to state prices. Perhaps the figure of 1 euro ‘quoted’ in the c’t article is taken from here.

Lifechanges…Delayed… recently had an entry about udal law (Orkneyjar, January 15th).

Digging around, I was surprised to learn that, because of its history and how Orkney and Shetland came to be part of Scotland, Orkney has a claim to be governed under udal law instead of common law. The Shetland & Orkney Udal Law Group (SOUL) has a lot of information about the old Norse law system and the history of law in Shetland and Orkney (in the context of restoring udal law).

I guess its a sign of one danger of devolution: just as Scotland is gaining more power from London, but now Orkney and Shetland are seeking a greater degree of separation from Edinburgh. The case SOUL outlines looks convincing, but how it would work practically and what it would mean (particularly in regards to fishing and mineral rights) is far from clear.

I’ve read about Norse udal law on the Orkneys before now, and the reason I haven’t blogged this yet is that I know so little. SOUL wants to restore udal law, but what the benefits of this are requires some understanding of Scottish land law, which is different from English law (I remember a rant by a Scottish lawyer saying equity is unnecessary). I don’t know what would actually be gained by doing away with the feudal system, since holding land under the vestiges of a feudal system in England and Wales seems scarcely different in practice from owning it in Germany.

Anyway, I quote David Walker’s Oxford Companion to Law (1980 – Walker is a Scottish lawyer):

Udal (or odal) law. The system of law which came to Orkney and Shetland with the Norsemen in the ninth century, and now co-exists there with feudalism of later Scottish origin. The odal is the hereditary estate held in absolute property and not of any superior, nor for any homage or service, but for a payment called skat, and a personal obligation to appear at the host or Thing. It comprises the homestead, the common lands, and land let to a stranger. Since the fifteenth century, Scottish ideas and feudal tenure have crept in and much land has been feudalized by charter from the Crown or through the Earl or Bishop of Orkney.

It appears you can study Allodial or odal law in English at Bergen University.

Meanwhile, in a comment to my last post on Burns Night, Ann informs of Orkney clapshot, a version of tatties and neeps toasted with cheese on top.

It’s almost too late to wish everyone a happy Burns Night. Burns Night/Day is a Scottish feast day more important than Christmas (Christmas Day was not even a public holiday there till a few decades ago).

The official Robert Burns site gives information on holding a Burns supper.

Armin Grewe has a picture of a haggis on his site – actually a plate with haggis, bashed neeps (mashed turnips/swedes) and potatoes. (Armin’s list of bloggers abroad here). And some more information (source):

bq. Among Burn’s many poems is one called “To a Haggis,” in which he describes the dish as that “Great chieftain O’ the puddin’-race.” Naturally, haggis must be served at the party. Haggis tastes slightly like hash. It is made from the heart, liver and lungs of a sheep. These organs are finely chopped and mixed with toasted oatmeal, onions, and seasonings. Then everything is boiled in a bag made from the sheep’s stomach.