BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The German Judges Association (DRB) expects a new flood of lawsuits in the diesel emissions scandal. "Law firms specializing in diesel cases are already aggressively soliciting new mandates, so the case numbers of many courts are likely to continue to rise significantly," DRB federal director Sven Rebehn told the Düsseldorf-based "Rheinische Post" (Wednesday). According to the report, more than 28,500 proceedings were recorded by the 24 higher regional courts alone last year.

The DRB demands to bring mass proceedings faster over the stage with early leading decisions. "The courts of instance should be able to suspend cases pending before them during pilot proceedings, provided that the legal issues to be resolved by the highest court are relevant to their proceedings," Rebehn said. The CDU/CSU also sees a need for action. "The German judiciary is suffering from massive overload due to mass proceedings. There is an urgent need for action," Günter Krings, legal policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, told the "Rheinische Post."/tos/DP/zb