has to place at the disposal of a settlement association lands for settlement up to one-third of the agricultural area as it existed in 1907 on the properties concerned.
According to the Small Holdings Law of May 10 1920 the Reich, the individual states and the communes may assign small holdings for the erection qt dwelling-houses and for cultivation by a small holder. The holding may not be partitioned or mortgaged without permission of the authority which has assigned it. The assigning authority has the first right to purchase, except where property passes to a husband or wife or near relation of the owner, and it also has a claim to the reversion of the holding if the small holder manages the place badly or does not properly look after it.
The housing difficulty has since 1918 necessitated measures of compulsion. In accordance with the proclamation of Sept. 9 1920 the communes may prohibit the demolition of buildings and the use of living-rooms for purposes other than habitation; they may also demand the notification of rooms which are not in use. In districts where there is an actual housing crisis the commune can also be empowered to issue further regulations for such purposes as sequestration of houses and rooms for compulsory billeting. Prof- iteering by house agencies is forbidden and is punishable. For increases of rent a certain percentage in addition to the peace-time rent of July I 1914 may be fixed as a maximum.
Courts of Law. The principal courts of justice in their order from the lowest to the highest are: the Local Courts (Amtsgerichte), Provincial Courts (Landgerichte), Superior Provincial Courts (Ober- landesgerichte) and the Reichsgericht at Leipzig. The Reichsgericht is the only court which is maintained by the Reich ; all the others are courts of the individual states. The judgments of the courts are issued in accordance with the new constitution of the Reich, under the heading " In the Name of the People." ' All the courts act as civil courts, as criminal courts and as courts having jurisdiction in norf-contentious matters.
The Amtsgerichte are, according to the Statute of March 1 1 1921, declared to be competent in all actions involving values up to 3,000 marks, and as regards some classes of actions (such as claims for maintenance, purchase of cattle, suits relating to rents and trans- port, etc.) without regard to the value of the object. The Amts- richter sits as sole judge. An appeal from his judgment to the Landgericht may be made, but only when the value of the object is more than 300 marks.
The Landgericht sits in divisions consisting of 3 judges in civil actions and of 5 judges in the case of the more important criminal trials. In the more important districts the Landgericht has also a commercial division with one professional judge and two lay judges taken from the commercial classes. From a judgment of a civil or commercial division an appeal lies to the Oberlandesgericht, sitting in senates of which each is composed of 5 judges. From the judgment of this court there is again an appeal on pure questions of law to the Reichsgericht, sitting in senates of which each is composed of 7 judges; such appeals only lie where the value of the object exceeds 4,000 marks, or in special classes of action (e.g. matrimonial suits, claims against the State, etc.).
Minor criminal cases are tried by the courts of first instance, Sclwffengerichte, which are presided over by the Amtsrichter and are composed of him and two lay judges. From the judgment of the Amtsgericht an appeal lies to a Strafkammer (Criminal Division of the Landgericht), and on points of pure law there is a further appeal to a criminal division of the Oberlandesgericht, in which 5 professional judges sit. Criminal cases of medium gravity are tried before a Strafkammer of the Landgericht as a court of first in- stance. An appeal lies from its judgment, not on questions of fact but only on the ground of misapplication of the law, in most cases to the Reichsgericht at Leipzig, but in some classes of cases this appeal goes to the Oberlandesgericht.
The gravest crimes are tried before a court composed of 3 judges sitting with a jury; the jury consists, as in England, of 12 persons. There is an appeal to the Reichsgericht against the judgment of a court sitting with a jury, but only on the ground of faulty procedure.
The Reichsgericht at Leipzig, in addition to being the court of revision in civil and criminal matters, is also competent, as a court of first and final instance, for the trkl of cases of high treason, ordinary treason and military crimes. In order to obviate the ex- tradition of the Germans accused of war crimes (as provided for in Art. 228 seq. of the Treaty of Versailles), the Reichsgericht was de- clared by a Law of Dec. 18 1919 to be competent for the trial of war crimes and offences.
Amtsgerichte, Landgerichte, Oberlandesgerichte and the Reichs- gericht are designated as regular (Ordentliclie) courts. There are, in addition, special courts (Sondergerichte) ; for example, industrial and commercial courts for disputes between employers and employed. In these there is a permanent president with assessors consisting of employers and employed in equal numbers. There are courts dealing with profiteering (Ordinance of Nov. 27 1919). There is further the Reichswirtschaftgericht (Ordinance of May n 1920), or economic court of the Reich for dealing with certain kinds of disputes arising out of the war and the conclusion of peace. Other special courts are
1 In the monarchical states the heading was " In the name of the King " or of the Grand Duke, Duke or other Sovereign.
the extraordinary tribunals with expedited procedure, such as those which the President of the Reich, acting by virtue of emergency powers conferred on him in Art. 48 of the constitution, set up to deal with cases arising out of the communist disorders. These courts are presided over by 3 professional judges; there is no appeal.
Legislation for Carrying Out the Treaty of Versailles. The Peace of Versailles was signed on June 28 1919, and accepted by the Reichstag by the Law of July 16 1919. According to the concluding article of the Treaty it was to come into force so soon as Germany and the three leading Powers had ratified it, and a " First Protocol " regarding the deposition of the Acts of Ratification had been drawn up. This was done on Jan. 10 1920. That day is, therefore, to be regarded as the day of the conclusion of peace for Germany in her relations with those States which had at once signed this protocol.
Germany had previously promulgated two laws of Aug. 31 1919: a law for the execution of the Treaty of Peace, and an Expropriation Law for the purposes of the Peace Treaty. According to the former, the settlement of claims and debts arising from transactions entered upon before the war between Germans and enemy nationals could as a rule be effected only by means of official investigation and through clearing offices (Treaty of Peace, Art. 72, 296) ; but where an enemy Power had not, according to Art. 2966, given notice to Germany, within a month's time after its ratification of the Treaty, of its intention to adopt the clearing-office system, direct negotia- tions were permitted. On April 24 1920 a statute was formed setting up a central clearing office of the Reich in Berlin, with 15 branch offices in the more important towns.
Up to May I 1920 the following States had declared their par- ticipation in the clearing-house system: Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Siam, Haiti. The following States had so far de- cided for direct negotiations: Brazil, Japan, Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Uruguay, the British Union of South Africa and the British Protectorate of Egypt, Yugoslavia, Cuba, Portugal, Liberia, Rumania, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama.
The law for executing the Treaty further authorized the Govern- ment of the Reich to requisition, subject to compensation, the serv- ice of agricultural, forest, industrial and mercantile enterprises, for the purpose of fulfilling the obligations arising out of the Treaty.
The Expropriation Law of Aug. 31 1919 empowered the Reich to confiscate and expropriate provisionally by summary order without legal procedure objects which were to be transferred to the Entente.
For the execution of the Peace Treaty a special commissariat of the Reich for works of reconstruction was instituted in the Ministry for Reconstruction, and also a commission for restoring machines and material to the enemy. According to the Law of the Reich of May 3 1920 information must be given to the authorities regarding all property rights and interests of German nationals in the terri- tories of the Entente States.
Compensation for services and supplies to the enemy forces in occupied regions was provided for by the Law of March 2 1920.
Military and Naval System.- By the new constitution of the Reich, and under pressure of the Treaty of Peace, the military system of the German Reich was completely transformed. Accord- ing to Art. 173 of the Treaty of Versailles universal service was abolished in Germany, and the German army might be recruited and vacancies filled solely by voluntary enlistment. According to Art. 160 and 183 of the Treaty, the whole peace strength of the German army might not exceed 100,000 men, while that of the naval forces was limited to 15,000 men in both cases including officers. In execution of these provisions the Law " for the abolition of universal service and for the regulation of the obligation to serve for a long period " was promulgated on Aug. 21 1920. A provisional Reichswehr (army of the Reich and navy of the Reich) had at first been created by the laws of March 6 and April 16 1919; the Reichs- wehr Law of March 23 1921 was issued, and according to this law the armed force of the German Republic is the Reichswehr.
Those who enter the army or navy as soldiers or sailors undertake the obligation of serving for 12 years. After that period, unless three months' notice to leave is given, the contract is prolonged for an additional year. During the period of service either party may dissolve the contract on special grounds. Every member of the army or navy can be promoted to the highest posts in accordance with capacities and services.
The career of an officer is intended to be for life. A candidate, before he is appointed to the position, has to contract a written obligation to serve uninterruptedly for 25 years. This contract, however, like that of the men, can be annulled on special grounds before it expires. The electoral rights of officers and men as citizens remain in abeyance during their period of service (Electoral Law of the Reich of May 27 1920, 2).
Provision is made by law for soldiers who have left the service and for the surviving dependents of soldiers and sailors. Provision for those officers of the former German army and those non-com- missioned officers under contract to serve for a long period (Kapi- tulanten), who were not taken over into the new army of the Reich, was made by the Officers' Compensation Law and the Non-com- missioned Officers' (under contract) Law, both promulgated on Sept. 13 1919. Officers of the different reserves, the men, and the military officials (i.e. those belonging to the Reserve, the Landwehr and the Landsturm) were released from all military obligation by an ordi-
