Political Innovation of the West German Federal Constitutional Court: The State of Discussion on Judicial Review

1976 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fritz Nova
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
The West ◽  
Federal Constitutional ◽  
German Federal Constitutional Court ◽  
German Federal Constitutional

Political Innovation of the West German Federal Constitutional Court: The State of Discussion on Judicial Review

1976 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fritz Nova
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
The United States ◽  
West Germany ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
The West ◽  
Federal Constitutional ◽  
German Federal Constitutional Court ◽  
German Federal Constitutional

The Watergate controversies and especially the recent decision in Richard M. Nixon versus the United States on July 24, 1974 have again raised in the United States the problem of the political limits to judicial policy making and the need to strike a new balance among the three branches of government for preserving and maintaining a democratic policy. In this paper, which is based on largely primary judicial, political, and academic German sources up to the year 1972, the development of jurisprudence of the West German Federal Constitutional Court is analyzed and discussed, particularly the Court's experience with judicial review. The article is geared toward the student of comparative constitutionalism and comparative government, offering possible lessons to the United States and other Common Law constitutional courts. Less concerned with the practical work of the Court, except for brief comments on actual performance, the paper focuses on such problems as past and present German approval and disapproval of the notion of judicial review, the often erudite disputation on the merits of constitutional—especially “creative”—jurisprudence; the discussion on the political limits of judicial review; and trends in particular philosophical positions of the Court in contemporary West Germany.

Effektive Kompetenzabgrenzung aufgrund oder durch Verhältnismäßigkeit?

Der Staat ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-296
Author(s):  
Nils Grosche
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
Specific Problem ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Use Case ◽  
Federal Constitutional ◽  
Principle Of Proportionality ◽  
German Federal Constitutional Court ◽  
German Federal Constitutional

Der Grundsatz der Verhältnismäßigkeit steht im Zentrum der Auseinandersetzung über die Kompetenzabgrenzung durch die Verfassungsgerichte im europäischen Verfassungsverbund. Auf den ersten Blick wirkt seine Heranziehung schlicht als fortgesetzte Proliferation eines gleichermaßen tradierten wie profilierten öffentlich-rechtlichen Maßstabs in einem unionseigenen Kontext, dem Vorgaben für die Kompetenzabgrenzung einfach entnommen werden können. Der Beitrag behandelt die Möglichkeit einer hiervon abzugrenzenden Verständnisweise des Abstellens auf den Verhältnismäßigkeitsgrundsatz seitens des Bundesverfassungsgerichts. Hiernach soll die Anknüpfung an den Verhältnismäßigkeitsgrundsatz lediglich dazu dienen, spezifische Anforderungen an eine effektive Kompetenzabgrenzung einzulösen, ohne diese notwendig selbst zu enthalten. Die in Rede stehenden Anforderungen sind Antworten auf ein bestimmtes Problem: die Fähigkeiten des Normadressaten, durch geschickte Konstruktionen Kompetenzbindungen abzustreifen. The principle of proportionality is at the center of the judicial controversy concerning the question of EU institutions exceeding their respective competences. At first glance the reference to the principle of proportionality simply marks a new use case of a ubiquitously utilized standard of judicial review entailing specific requirements for the delimitation of competences. The article argues for a different perception of the application of the principle of proportionality by the German Federal Constitutional Court. According to this perception the principle of proportionality serves as a proxy in order to incorporate certain requirements for the effective delimitation of competences. These requirements are triggered by a specific problem: the capabilities of an addressee of a rule to circumvent it via smart design.

scholarly journals The Judgment of the German Federal Constitutional Court regarding assisted suicide: a template for pluralistic states?

2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2021-107233
Author(s):  
Urban Wiesing
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Federal Constitutional ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
German Federal Constitutional Court ◽  
German Federal Constitutional

The article presents the judgment of the German Federal Constitutional Court from 26 February 2020 on assisted suicide. The statements regarding human dignity, human rights and the relationship between citizens and the state are examined. Furthermore, the consequences resulting from this interpretation of human dignity for states that are pluralistic and based on human rights will be laid out. The court’s judgment limits the power of parliaments and poses a challenge to many laws in states that see themselves as pluralistic, human rights-based states.

scholarly journals Constitutional Interpretation and Foreign Law: A Comparative Analysis between the U.S. Supreme Court and the German Federal Constitutional Court

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (66) ◽  
pp. 85-129
Author(s):  
Mher Arshakyan ◽  
Jacopo Paffarini ◽  
Márcio Ricardo Staffen
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional Interpretation ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
Foreign Law ◽  
Federal Constitutional ◽  
German Federal Constitutional Court ◽  
German Federal Constitutional

The central purpose of this paper is to show that there are no major differences in the methods of constitutional interpretation in countries with varying degree of judicial review. Despite the fact that legal culture and traditions, underlying political theories, and values all affect methods of interpretation, there is no big gap in constitutional interpretation in practice in view of wide interpretive discretion. Obviously all legal systems require compliance with some fundamental interpretive standards irrespective of the legal system, and in a democratic society judicial decisions should be justified at least to avoid arbitrariness. The question is what are the limits beyond which judges cannot go in constitutional democracies? Can the foreign law be a parameter for judicial review of legislation? Hence, the style and method of legal argumentation that are used to justify the decision may differ in the countries belonging to different legal systems. Whether there are significant differences between the common law and civil law constitutional interpretation will be assessed through the comparative analysis of the United States Supreme Court and the German Federal Constitutional Court.

scholarly journals Paradoxes of Ultra-Vires Review: A Critical Review of the PSPP Decision and Its Initial Reception

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 979-994
Author(s):  
Mattias Wendel
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Federal Constitutional ◽  
German Federal Constitutional Court ◽  
German Federal Constitutional

AbstractThis contribution explores paradoxes of ultra vires review with specific regard to the PSPP decision of the German Federal Constitutional Court in the light of the decision’s initial reception. While some of these paradoxes are inherent in the very nature of ultra vires review, others are specific to the PSPP judgment. They relate to the underlying doctrinal and theoretical premises, to key concepts such as proportionality or the scope of judicial review, to the overall context in which the decision is embedded, and even to the community which is addressed and affected by the decision. It is the sad irony that the Federal Constitutional Court, while accusing others of manifestly exceeding their competences, does not sufficiently adhere to its own standards and increasingly risks overstretching the boundaries of its mandate under the Basic Law.

Loyalty in Constitutional Law – Some Reflections

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Rainer Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Regional Systems ◽  
Federal Constitutional ◽  
General Aspects ◽  
German Federal Constitutional Court ◽  
German Federal Constitutional

Rule of law requires a clear distribution of competences for the State institutions. Competence distribution is essential for separation of powers and hinders an antidemocratic accumulation of powers. The attribution of competences to State institutions by the Constitution regulates the reach, modality and procedure of the exercise of the competence. However, competences must be exercised in a way which is not detrimental to other institutions and the State as a whole. The inter-institutional obligation of mutual loyalty is a written or unwritten principle with high importance in European constitutionalism. The contribution treats with significant examples of this principle, as the “Organtreue” in the perspective of the German Federal Constitutional Court or the faithful cooperation principle in federal and regional systems. General aspects shall be pointed out which determine loyalty as a constitutional category.

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