German military law German military law has a long history . History . Drumhead courts - martial in the German lands had existed since the Early modern period . During the Thirty Years ' War several Imperial state s established military tribunals modelled on the jurisdiction of the Swedish Army . In Brandenburg - Prussia , justice was dispensed by special " Auditeur " attorneys through three official channels . After the Prussian - led Unification of Germany , the German Empire with effect from 1 October 1900 established a particular court - martial jurisdiction ( ) to try soldiers of the German Army , with the " Reichsmilitärgericht " ( RMG ) in Charlottenburg as the supreme court . In Prussia it replaced the " Generalauditoriat " agency , while the Kingdom of Bavaria retained the right to pass judgements to members of the Bavarian Army by a separate ( the 3rd ) senate . The presiding judge in the rank of a general or admiral was appointed directly by the German Emperor . During World War I , German military law enabled military courts to try not only soldiers but also civilians held to have violated the military law . Especially well - known is the case of Edith Cavell , the English nurse court - martialled and executed in occupied Brussels in 1915 for having helped POW ' s escape - which was indeed a capital offence under the German military law of the time . Nazi Germany . In the post - war Weimar Republic ( 1919 - 1933 ) , separate courts - martial including the RMG were abolished according to Article 106 of the Weimar Constitution - but they were revived by the Nazi government after the " Machtergreifung " , enacting a special law on 12 May 1933 . Initially the Reichsgericht in Leipzig , from 1 December 1934 the " People ' s Court " ( " Volksgerichtshof " ) in Berlin , acted as final appellate court , until the " Reichskriegsgericht " ( RKG ) was established as high court of the Wehrmacht armed forces by another directive with effect from 1 October 1936 . The RKG was based in the former RMG building on Witzlebenstraße in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin . A directive on a special criminal law of war was already enacted on 17 August 1938 by OKW chief Wilhelm Keitel at the behest of " Führer " Adolf Hitler . From the beginning of World War II the court convicted not only Wehrmacht members but also POW ' s and civilians in the area of operations . The RKG acted as the first and last resort for 44 criminal offenses under penalty of death , such as : Between 1939 and 1945 the RKG in Berlin was responsible for over 1 , 400 executions , including those of the Red Orchestra . In 1943 the court was transferred to Torgau , where it was based until the end of the war . In 1951 the building became the temporarily base of the Berlin Kammergericht ( appellate court ) , since 2005 it is a private estate . With the arms buildup and continued warfaring , the number of Wehrmacht courts - martial increased to over 1 , 000 . On 13 May 1941 Hitler had Keitel pass a directive , according to which any Wehrmacht officer had the authority to execute accused civilians in the area of Operation Barbarossa and the Eastern Front without trial . Against the laws of war , the official repeal of criminal prosecution led to widespread hostage - taking , mass executions , burning and looting by German forces . After the German Instrument of Surrender , Nazi courts martial were not abolished by the Allied Control Council until 20 August 1946 . In 2002 and 2009 the German Bundestag parliament has finally passed bills to suspend the verdicts against Wehrmacht for desertion and homosexual activity as well as against " war traitors " . Current situation . Since 1949 , the Federal Republic of Germany has no special military courts . Criminal acts committed by soldiers are tried in ordinary criminal courts by civilian judges . Art . 96 para . 2 Basic Law ( " Grundgesetz " ) allows for the creation of specialised military courts in case of war and for soldiers sent abroad , subject to a federal law . Such a law has not been passed . Smaller offences are being handled by disciplinary courts which are attached to the administrative court system . They may only pronounce disciplinary punishments , but no criminal sentences ( e . g . no imprisonment , except 21 days of detention in the watch room ) .