German Military Union Angered by Court Decision

The German Military Union has called on politicians not to leave decisions on the future of the Bundeswehr solely to the courts. "Such matters should be decided by parliament, not left to the courts," union chief Bernhard Gertz told Deutsche Welle. Gertz was referring to a decision by an administrative court in Cologne that ruled in favor of a 21-year old conscript who sued the Bundeswehr, arguing that conscription was an arbitrary process with no basic legal guidelines. The court's verdict has once again sparked political debate over Germany's mandatory military service, with leading Green politicians demanding that conscription be abolished in favor of a professional army.