Abstract
The West German Federal Constitutional Court has generally acted as a guardian of the German federal system. The Court has prevented attempts by the federation to encroach upon the modest autonomy left to the Lander. If a national solution for a problem seems indispensable, the Court favors techniques that compensate the Linder for a loss of autonomy by granting them certain participation rights. Guided by that principle, the Court's construction of the Basic Law has increased considerably the number of federal statutes that require the approval of the Bundesrat. Thus the Court emphasizes today the idea of partnership. However, in a 1986 decision, the Court made clear that a certain amount of federal leadership is needed to keep the system running. In this decision, the Court reminded the federation expressly of its responsibility for the whole.
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