Herta Däubler-Gmelin returns to law after decades shaping Germany’s justice system

From reunification debates to privacy battles, her legacy endures. Now, she’s trading the Bundestag for courtrooms—and still challenging Germany’s legal status quo.

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2026 January 3 . 10:27 PM

1 min read

This picture shows a woman standing and speaking with the help of a microphone and we see two Flags... — This picture shows a woman standing and speaking with the help of a microphone and we see two Flags on the podium.

Herta Däubler-Gmelin returns to law after decades shaping Germany’s justice system

Herta Däubler-Gmelin, a prominent figure in German politics and law, has returned to legal practice after decades in public service. The former Federal Minister of Justice, who served from 1998 to 2002, now works at Schwegler Rechtsanwälte in Berlin. Her career spans law, academia, and nearly four decades in the Bundestag.

Born in Tübingen, Däubler-Gmelin began as a lawyer before entering politics in 1972. She remained a member of the Bundestag until 2009. One of her most difficult decisions came during German reunification, when she reluctantly accepted the rejection of a unified constitution.

As justice minister, she later became an honorary professor at the Free University of Berlin. She also taught at the University of Tübingen, where her last courses—on cosmopolitan aesthetics and fundamentalism—took place in 2013. Today, she remains vocal on legal and political issues. She has criticised Germany's federal system as overly complex and costly. More recently, she condemned the use of Palantir's Gotham software by German authorities, calling it a breach of citizens' privacy rights. For law students, she recommends a course at Humboldt University: Sociology of Law and Foundations of Legal Production and Legal Policy, taught by Prof. Dr. Susanne Baer.

Däubler-Gmelin's return to private practice marks a new chapter after a long public career. Her critiques of federalism, digital surveillance, and legal education reflect ongoing engagement with Germany's political and judicial landscape. She continues to influence debates through teaching, writing, and advocacy.