Meet Our Members is a series where Liberties introduces you to our network of human rights defenders. We hear the stories of the people behind the organisations and why they do the work they do. Liberties is an umbrella network which coordinates campaigns with its expanding network of national civil liberties NGOs in 18 EU Member States.

Joschka’s interest in human rights started early, long before he ever studied law. The Iraq War and the revelations around Guantánamo Bay in the early 2000s were a turning point. “Those were such grave violations that I felt I had to get involved in a more concrete way,” he says.

At first, his approach was academic. He studied Political Science and Islamic Studies to better understand global power structures, or “big questions" as he calls them. With a particular focus on the Middle East, he spent time abroad in Damascus and Cairo and imagined a future working for an international organisation like the UN. But over time, that path felt too abstract. “I wanted something more tangible, an instrument I could actually use,” Joschka explains.

That instrument turned out to be the law. He began studying it alongside his other degrees, already knowing he wanted to use it differently. “I didn’t want to use law to preserve the status quo, but to use its potential to make life better for everyone.”

Learning by doing

After completing his legal training, Joschka worked as a lawyer in the field of litigation and loved the immediacy of the job. “You really feel the impact of your work. You help a specific person, and when you win, the gratitude is very real.” At the same time, he felt constrained by having to follow clients' interests rather than his own convictions.

What followed was, as Joschka calls it, pure “learning by doing.” He worked at a think tank on climate protection law, which he found fascinating but highly technical and indirect in its impact. Later, he joined the Green Party as a legal advisor in Berlin’s state parliament. While the work was exciting, being the sole person responsible for his area made him miss collaboration and exchange.

In 2020, he joined GFF at a time when the organisation was still fairly unique in Germany. Today, the organisation has up to 60 people working in its headquarters in Berlin. The role he took on was also relatively new at the time, and the department ‘Strong Fundamental Rights for a Vibrant Democracy’ has since developed into a four-person team.

Panel at re:publica discussing how public administration can position itself in response to anti-constitutional efforts.

Strategic litigation for democracy

The GFF has been around for over ten years and is often described as the “legal protection insurance for the German constitution”. What sets it apart, according to Joschka, is its broad approach: strategic litigation not just for one issue, but across a wide spectrum of fundamental and human rights.

Joschka’s team focuses on classic civil liberties such as freedom of expression, press freedom and freedom of assembly, as well as the broader question of how much space civil society is allowed to take.

One landmark case dates back to the Covid years, when climate activists increasingly organised long-term protest camps instead of mass demonstrations. Authorities across Germany reacted very differently; some tolerated the camps, others banned them or even woke protesters at night to prevent them from sleeping. “There was huge legal uncertainty,” Joschka recalls.

The GFF took the issue to court and eventually won a case at the Federal Administrative Court. The ruling clarified that infrastructure, including tents, can be protected by freedom of assembly if it is necessary for the protest. “At its core, it’s about protesters deciding themselves what their assembly should look like,” Joschka explains.

Motivation, gratitude and resistance

“It’s a privilege to do this job,” Joschka says. “I get to turn activism into my profession.” Working closely with activists, journalists and scientists means he’s constantly learning and rarely has a routine day. The challenge is juggling many cases at once, but that’s also what keeps the work engaging.

Some cases stay with him on a deeply personal level. One long-running project concerns the legal recognition of same-sex parenthood. Families have been waiting for years for a decision from the Federal Constitutional Court. “It’s incredibly moving, but it also shows how much endurance this kind of work requires,” Joschka says.

At the same time, the political climate has made the work harder. As strategic litigation is increasingly labelled as ‘too political’, GFF faces more and more public criticism, online harassment and smear campaigns from the far-right. There are also worrying signs of governments ignoring court rulings altogether.

Still, Joschka remains clear about his motivation. “We’re fighting a lot of defensive battles right now,” he says. “But if we want democracy and the rule of law to survive, these are the fights we have to take on.” 

For him, staying and contributing where he is feels essential. “I’m in a position where I can help keep this a livable country – not just for the next few years, but for the long run.”

More articles in the Meet Our Members series:

Fighting for a Future World Where Human Rights Are Respected

Giving Birth Pushed Adéla Holeček to Fight For Maternal Justice

Movement Lawyering isn’t Always About Winning Cases