Rashomon in Karlsruhe: A reflection on democracy and identity in the European Union: The German Constitutional Court's Lisbon decision and the changing landscape of European constitutionalism

Abstract

Epilogue On June 30, 2009, the German Constitutional Court declared the Lisbon Treaty to be compatible with the German constitution. At the same time, the Court held that the German statute implementing the participatory rights of national Parliaments, which the Lisbon Treaty provides for, was unconstitutional. It emphasized that Germany could only deposit its ratification instrument after a new statute on the German Parliament’s rights had been drawn up. In spite of an upcoming electoral campaign, the statute on Parliament’s rights was re-drafted over the summer of 2009, and entered into force in September 2009. After a last, futile attempt to have the Lisbon Treaty stopped by the German Constitutional Court, Germany ratified on September 25, 2009. The Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on