The Independent Finance Board (IFB) is a tribunal in accordance with Art 6 ECHR and a Court within the meaning of Art 267 TFEU.
Its
independence is ensured by constitutional law. The individual
independence of its members is laid down in constitutional and other
federal regulations.
The members are appointed until the statutory age of retirement.
A
removal to another department (branch office) within the IFB or another
public organization outside the IFB without the member’s agreement is
legally forbidden.
The remuneration of the members is regulated by law and doesn’t
depend on the performance of the judge. The members earn all-inclusive
salary, which means, they don’t get extra overtime payment.
”Bonus
systems” or ” individual subjective salaries” are generally viewed as
incompatible with the judges’ independence, because it could convey the
unseemly impression of a possible exertion of influence on
jurisprudence.
If a member doesn’t fullfill his/her task over an extended period of
time a performance procedure can be initiated by the president. If the
judge is not satisfied with the assessment he/she has the right to
appeal it before a commission, which comprises judges of the IFB.
There is no discussion regarding to the judges remunerations for instance because of the financial crisis.
The
evaluation of judicial work is generally seen as difficult and
challenging. In the IFB a monitoring system without the infringement of
the judges’ independence is established. The result of the monitoring is
transparent and is being discussed by the president with the judges.
Generally spoken the resources of the IFB are adequate. However the
fact that the advertisement of a vacancy needs the approval of the
Ministry of Finance has to be regarded as an infringement.
On
1. January 2014 a reform of administrative jurisdiction will take
place, which establish a long overdue introduction of a two-tiered
system of administrative courts. Due to this reform the IFB will be
transformed into a Federal Administrative Court of Finance, which means
in terms of independence a further improvement of quality, for instance
regarding the appointment (shortlist of three candidates proposed to the
government by a committee of the plenary assembly).