Amtsgericht is German for Local District Court, situated in Germany in almost every larger capital of a rural district. It mainly acts in Civil and Criminal law affairs. It forms the lowest level of the so-called orderly branch of the German judiciary (German Ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit), which is responsible for most criminal and civil judicial matters. The next level is called Landgericht. The German Amtsgericht may be compared to the British Magistrates' Court.
The main areas of an Amtsgericht's jurisdiction are:
- court of first instance for civil case where the subject of litigation is worth 5,000 euros or less, and for litigation involving rental agreements, marriages, maintenance and child custody.
- court of first instance for criminal cases where a fine or a prison term of no more than four years can be imposed.
- administration of several public register such as the companies', the associations', the cooperatives' and the land owership register.
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