The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany – A provisional solution turns 60
- (Quelle: Pixelmaniac)
Sixty years ago, on May 23, 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany, a new, still war-shattered state emerged, founded on a contractual provision – the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. Against the background of the partition of Germany, the parliamentary council entrusted with drafting a constitution for Germany specifically declared the resulting formulation to be provisional so as not to stand in the way of uniting both the eastern and western parts of the country. Emerging from this was the Basic Law, which was regularly the object of controversial discussion not just in the year West Germany was born, it has even outlived the reunification.
In the first chapter this May edition of the Research Special series offers research project and literature references generally on the history of political thought and in particular the history of the German constitution. The second chapter tackles fundamental topics like federalism, laicism, social statehood, basic and human rights.
Chapter three is dedicated to the Federal Constitutional Court as a factor shaping the Basic Law, while the references in the fourth chapter take on the contradictions between domestic security and freedom in an “open society.” The works cited in chapter five focus on the institutional framework prescribed by the Basic Law and their arrangement. Literature on the chancellor’s authority or on dissolution of the Bundestag following a no confidence vote is thus listed.
Following that, chapter six looks at issues and cases which continually arise in areas related to the Basic Law: the missing plebiscitary element in the German constitution, research with embryonic stem cells, equality legislation, as well as minority protections, among others. In conclusion, the seventh chapter illuminates the impact and consequences of European union and, though only slightly visible on the horizon, that of the European constitution on Germany’s Basic Law.
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