 From 2000 to January 2008, he was president of the Federal Court of Justice of Germany.He is the vice president of the association of the presidents of the highest courts of justice of the European Union as well as president of the academy for management and commerce Baden in Karlsruhe.He is a member of the disciplinary commission of the FIFA, a member of academy ethics in medicine, a member of the society for comparative law and a member of the society for public international law.