Dr. Ricarda Brandts is a lawyer and the chairwoman of the board of UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe e.V. She has held several influential positions throughout her career and was the president of the Constitutional Court for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In 1984, Dr. Brandts passed the second state law examination. She initially worked as a research assistant at a chair at Ruhr University Bochum, then began her career in the judiciary in 1988 as a judge at the Social Court of Dortmund. Following positions at the Higher Social Court of NRW and the Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Affairs in NRW, she became the president of the Social Court of Dortmund, then vice president of the Higher Social Court in Essen, judge at the Federal Social Court in Kassel, and finally in 2010, president of the Higher Social Court of NRW – for a long time her “dream job.”

Her career, however, took another turn: In 2012, Dr. Brandts was appointed by the state government as the first president of the Higher Administrative Court in Münster and the Constitutional Court for the state of NRW. She served there until her retirement in 2021. One of her particular concerns has been and continues to be passing on her experiences to the next generation of lawyers, especially women. She is a member of the board of trustees of Ruhr University Bochum.

As chairwoman of the board of UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe e.V. – the German partner of the UNHCR – Dr. Brandts works for international refugee protection. She is committed to the right to asylum and the respect of human rights.