First German states join justice network

Two names mark the first connection to the German justice system’s digital infrastructure: Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony have been connected to the nationwide justice network. The Federal Ministry of Justice views this as an important prerequisite for the Justice Cloud, which is intended to give courts and public prosecutors’ offices access to the standard software they need in the future.

The network has linked the data centers of the federal government and the states since 2025 and operates as a so-called “Private Community Cloud” — a shared, protected network. Standardized specialist applications could become cheaper as a result and simplify exchanges between the relevant authorities. This applies not only to criminal, administrative and civil proceedings, but also to land registers as well as commercial, association and foundation registers.

Electronic legal communications are also expected to change as a result. The delivery of legally valid justice documents via the Electronic Court and Administrative Mailbox, or EGVP for short, has been standard practice for 20 years. If documents can be shared, accessed and exchanged within the cloud network, this form of delivery is expected to disappear or decline significantly.

The rollout remains federated: The virtualized infrastructure is provided, among others, by Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Lower Saxony, while Dataport is responsible for IT security. The Berlin IT service center is responsible for disruptions and inquiries; its hosted software is provided by the US company ServiceNow. Bavaria is expected to follow this year, with all other German states joining over the course of 2027. The federal government, including federal courts and the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, is also expected to be connected by then.

So what will actually change? For courts and public prosecutors’ offices, access to shared specialist applications could reduce duplicate development and simplify exchanges within the justice system. This ambition does not yet amount to a finished nationwide service: The cloud’s use will first have to prove itself across the various state IT service providers. In April, the E-Justice Council also decided to include the prison system, with cloud-enabled inmate administration, a digital inmate account and a “Smart Prison Infrastructure”.