The role of fundamental rights after sixty-five years of constitutional jurisprudence in Germany

Abstract

The jurisprudence of the German Constitutional Court in the field of fundamental rights has greatly enhanced their impact on the political process and the daily life of citizens. Fundamental rights matter because of the meaning and effect given to them in a long series of judgments and because of their adaption to changing circumstances. The court’s jurisprudence has also influenced the jurisprudence of many younger constitutional courts and courts with constitutional adjudication inside and outside Europe, which were established after the collapse of dictatorial and authoritarian regimes. The article describes the development of fundamental rights in the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court, in particular the value approach to fundamental rights, the principle of proportionality, the state’s constitutional duty to protect fundamental rights if they are threatened by fellow citizens or societal actors, and explains the court’s methodological approach to the interpretation of fundamental rights that enabled these innovations in constitutional law.