Overview
- In the first half of 2025, the tally of unresolved procedures rose by 30,781 from the prior record at end‑2024 to 981,633.
- More than 2.7 million new cases arrived in the first six months of 2025, keeping inflows at the record pace seen in 2023 and 2024.
- North Rhine‑Westphalia reported the largest stock with nearly 267,000 open files, Hamburg’s total climbed to 64,404 (almost triple since 2021), and Saxony reached 45,952, while Brandenburg reduced its backlog to about 24,000.
- The Deutscher Richterbund warns of lengthening investigations and rising dismissals and is pressing for roughly 2,000 additional prosecution posts.
- The figures come from a Deutsche Richterzeitung survey of state justice administrations and cover only cases against named suspects.