60 Years German Basic Law: The German Constitution and its Court Landmark Decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany in the Area of Fundamental Rights Jürgen Bröhmer, Clauspeter Hill & Marc Spitzkatz (Eds.) 2nd Edition Edited by Suhainah Wahiduddin LLB Hons (Anglia) Published by The Malaysian Current Law Journal Sdn Bhd E1-2, Jalan Selaman 1/2, Dataran Palma, 68000 Ampang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia [Co No 51143 M] Tel: 603-42705400 Fax: 603-42705401 2012 © Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V., Berlin / Germany. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any material form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or storing in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication, without the written permission of the copyright holder, application for which should be addressed to the publisher. Such written permission must also be obtained before any part of this publication is stored in a retrieval system of any nature. The following parts have been published earlier under the copyright of: © Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, Baden-Baden / Germany Cases no. IV. 2 a) School Prayer, IV. 2 b) Classroom Crucifix, V. 2 d) First Broadcasting Decision and XV. a) and b) Solange I and II. Published in: Decisions of the Bundesverfassungsgericht - Federal Constitutional Court - Federal Republic of Germany, Vol. 1, 2 and 4, Baden-Baden 1993-2007. © Donald P. Kommers Case no. II. 1 a) Elfes, published in: Donald P. Kommers, The Constitutional of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2nd ed. (1997) Durham NC. © Sir Basil Markesinis Cases no. V. 1 a) Lüth and V. 3 a) Mephisto, published in: Basil Markesinis / Hannes Unberath, The German Law of Torts - A Comparative Treatise, 4th ed. (2002) Oxford and Portland, Oregon. © Robert E. Jonas and John D. Gorby Case II. 2 a) Abortion I, published in: The John Marshall Journal of Practice and Procedure (Vol. 9:605). Cover photo: © Bundesverfassungsgericht Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Brohmer, Jurgen 60 years German basic law: the German constitution and its court : landmark decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany in the area of fundamental rights / Jurgen Brohmer, Clauspeter Hill & Marc Spitzkatz (Eds.) - 2nd ed. Includes index ISBN 978-967-0379-16-6 1. Constitutional law--Germany 2. Germany--Politics and government. I. Hill, Clauspeter. II. Spitzkatz, Marc. III. Title : Sixty years German basic law : the German Constitution and its court : landmark decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany in the area of fundamental rights IV. Title. 342.43 2nd Edition Printed by Printmate Sdn Bhd No. 14 & 16, Jalan Industri P.B.P. 7, Taman Industri Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47100 Puchong, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Although every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of this publication, the Malaysian Current Law Journal accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions, if any. CONTENTS Editors’ Preface to the Second Edition ........................................................................ i Preface by the Editors ......................................................................................................... iii Foreword Prof. Dr. Andreas Voßkuhle, President of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ..................................................................................................................... vii Current Text of the German Basic Law ..................................................................... 1 Introduction to German Constitutional Law and the Doctrine of Basic Rights Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bröhmer ...................................................................................................... 67 Selected Fundamental Decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court .............................................................................................................................................. 99 I. Human Dignity Article 1 of the Basic Law ..................................................................................... 99 a) BVerfGE 45, 187 - Life Imprisonment b) BVerfGE 115, 118 - Aviation Security Act II. Free Development of Personality and the Protection of Physical Integrity and Personal Liberty Article 2 of the Basic Law .................................................................................... 130 1. Article 2.1 - Free Development of Personality a) BVerfGE 6, 32 - Elfes b) BVerfGE 80, 137 - Riding in Forests c) BVerfGE 65, 1 - Census Act d) BVerfGE 120, 274 - Data Collection 2. Article 2.2 - Life, Limb and Liberty a) BVerfGE 39, 1 - Abortion I b) BVerfGE 88, 203 - Abortion II III. Equality and Non-Discrimination Article 3 of the Basic Law .................................................................................... 222 a) BVerfGE 85, 191 - Prohibition of Nocturnal Employment b) BVerfGE 87, 1 - Rubble Women c) BVerfGE 88, 87 - Transsexuals d) BVerfGE 96, 288 - Inclusive Education Contents IV. Freedom of Faith, Conscience and Creed Article 4 of the Basic Law ................................................................................... 257 1. The Scope of Religious Freedom and Freedom of Conscience a) BVerfGE 24, 236 - Lumber Room b) BVerfGE 69, 1 - Conscientious Objection II c) BVerfGE 104, 337 - Hijab 2. Religion and State - Relation a) BVerfGE 52, 223 - School Prayer b) BVerfGE 93, 1 - Classroom Crucifix c) BVerfGE 108, 282 - Head Scarf Ban V. Freedom of Expression, the Media, Arts and Research Article 5 of the Basic Law ................................................................................... 350 1. Article 5.1, sentence 1 - Freedom of Expression a) BVerfGE 7, 198 - Lueth b) BVerfGE 27, 71 - Leipziger Volkszeitung (Leipzig People´s Daily) c) BVerfGE 90, 241 - Ausschwitz Lie (Holocaust Denial) d) BVerfGE 93, 266 - Soldiers - Murderers 2. Article 5.1, sentence 2 - Freedom of the Media a) BVerfGE 20, 162 - Spiegel b) BVerfGE 101, 361 - Caroline of Monaco II c) BVerfGE 34, 269 - Soraya d) BVerfGE 12, 205 - 1st Broadcasting Decision e) BVerfGE 83, 238 - 6th Broadcasting Decision 3. Article 5.3 - Freedom of Arts, Research and Teaching a) BVerfGE 30, 173 - Mephisto b) BVerfGE 67, 213 - Anachronistic Procession VI. Marriage, Family and Children Article 6 of the Basic Law ................................................................................... 483 a) BVerfGE 105, 313 - Life Partnership Act b) BVerfGE 121, 69 - Parental Duty of Contact c) BVerfGE 111, 307 - Görgülü VII. Freedom of Assembly Article 8 of the Basic Law ................................................................................... 523 a) BVerfGE 87, 399 - Right of Assembly b) BVerfGE 69, 315 - Brokdorf Contents VIII. Freedom of Association Article 9 of the Basic Law ................................................................................... 546 BVerfGE 92, 365 - Short-Work Benefits (S. 116 of the Employment Protection Act) IX. Privacy of Communications Article 10 of the Basic Law .................................................................................. 557 a) BVerfGE 30, 1 - Eavesdropping b) BVerfGE 100, 313 - Federal Intelligence Service X. Freedom of Occupation Article 12 of the Basic Law .................................................................................. 599 a) BVerfGE 7, 377 - Pharmacy b) BVerfGE 121, 317 - Non-Smoker Protection c) BVerfGE 105, 252 - Glycol Wine XI. Inviolability of the Home Article 13 of the Basic Law .................................................................................. 644 a) BVerfGE 32, 54 - Right to Inspect Business Premises b) BVerfGE 109, 279 - Acoustic Surveillance XII. Protection of Property Article 14 of the Basic Law .................................................................................. 672 a) BVerfGE 58, 300 - Groundwater b) BVerfGE 58, 137 - Legal Deposit Copies c) BVerfGE 100, 226 - Monument Protection Act XIII. Citizenship and Extradition Article 16 of the Basic Law .................................................................................. 703 BVerfGE 113, 273 - European Arrest Warrant Act XIV. Political Prosecution and Asylum Article 16a of the Basic Law ................................................................................ 732 a) BVerfGE 80, 315 - Tamils b) BVerfGE 94, 49 - Asylum (Third Country Rule) XV. Fundamental Rights Protection by the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union .................................................................. 754 a) BVerfGE 37, 271 - Solange I (As-long-as I) b) BVerfGE 73, 339 - Solange II (As-long-as II) c) BVerfGE 89, 155 - Maastricht d) BVerfGE 102, 147 - Banana Market Organization e) BVerfGE 123, 267 - Lisbon Treaty Contents Further Readings .................................................................................................................... 793 Index ............................................................................................................................................. 801 Explanation of Abbreviations ............................................................................................ 829 Preface by the Editors EDITORS’ PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION The usefulness and popularity of the First Edition of “60 Years German Basic Law” have encouraged us to present a Second Edition already, shortly after the first-time publication. In order to meet the high demand from many countries all over the world in the year of the German Constitutional Court’s