Abstract
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.
Highlights
This contribution explores paradoxes of ultra vires review with specific regard to the Public Sector Asset Purchase Programme (PSPP) decision of the German Federal Constitutional Court in the light of the decision’s initial reception
(Received July 2020; accepted July 2020). This 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
The debate on the PSPP decision is as revealing as is the decision itself
Summary
Whatever other dimensions the decision may have—political, economic, historical, personal—the legal are of particular importance, given that the law is the primary language of a court. It is the language it should master, especially when accusing others of an outright failure to do so. Ultimate killer argument, turned against EU law), but positions that can be more or less convincingly defended on the basis of EU or national law
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