The European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided, in the case Tanja Kreil v. Germany, that Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 (equal treatment directive) precludes the application of national provisions, such as those of German law, which impose a general exclusion of women from military posts involving the use of arms. The ECJ found that such policies violated the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions. Since this ruling both the Bundesverfassungsgericht (BVerfG – Federal Constitutional Court) and the ECJ have had to confront the question whether the German system of compulsory military service for men is compatible with Article 3.2 and 3.3 of the Grundgesetz (GG – German Basic Law) and the equal treatment directive.

In the middle of the 19th century Jurists Forums were founded in several European countries, including Germany, Switzerland, the Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, Italy and Hungary. The aim of the institution was to assemble practitioners and academics, in order to discuss contemporary legal problems with the goal of influencing jurisprudence and legislation. The activities of the Deutscher Juristentag (German Jurists' Forum) were interrupted after Hitler came to power, primarily because the German Jurists' Forum refused to exclude its Jewish members. The organization was resurrected after the Second World War, and has taken a leading role in influencing the jurisprudence of the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH — German Federal Court of Justice), for example in the area of product liability and family law.