Bernhard Moltmann A case for justice? Reflections on the foundations and perspectives of the German arms export politics PRIF Reports No. 60 ã Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) 2001 Correspondence to: PRIF Leimenrode 29 60322 Frankfurt am Main Germany Telephone: +49 (0) 69 95 91 04-0 Fax: +49 (0) 69 55 84 81 Email:
[email protected] website: http://www.hsfk.de Translation: Dr Diane Spiedel, Edge Translations, Manchester ISBN: 3-933293-54-5 E 10,– II Summary German arms export policies have proved to be an eternally emotive issue in political and social debate. Although the controversy does not, in the long run, illuminate, the vehe- mence with which it is time and again conducted indicates that all is not well. In a de- mocracy based on the rule of law, should we not be able to assume that the apparent col- lisions between accepted norms and vested interests are governed by the law in a way that political and administrative actions do not produce any fundamental contradictions in terms? To meet this objective, the law must be universally valid and achievable, to ensure the maintenance of peace under the law. In reality, a glance at the system of legal norms and procedures that shape current German arms export politics leaves an impression of “extraordinary complexity” and reflects “an extremely unclear and interlocked structure of legal rulings with numerous origins” candidly admits a legal commentator. This judgement is confirmed when these legal foundations, as they appear in their German sources, are considered in the context of the European Union and in view of the general global situation.