The Basic Law, Germany's Constitution, has been frequently and substantially changed since coming into force in 1949. The fourth edition of this book consolidates the original text with all amendments up to and including the 60th Amendment of December 2014. There have been no further amendments yet. Therefore, the edition represents the current status in July 2016. The translation is part of 'International Constitutional Law' (ICL), an internet project on comparative constitutional law. The most recent update to this text can be found at www.jurisprudentia.de.

Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Law - Philosophy, History and Sociology of Law, grade: 82%, 18 Punkte, University of Hull, language: English, abstract: According to the first Article of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz) human dignity shall be inviolable: “Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar”. The fact that the protection of human dignity is enshrined at the very beginning of the Basic Law emphasises its value and significance. But has it always been like this, or rather, since when did human rights protection gain such importance? It is both interesting and necessary within comparative legal studies to look at laws and their development in various countries since legal history can support the study of comparative law. Especially constitutional issues are relevant as the functioning of a state and human co-existence are based on constitutional principles and values. An analysis of the historic developments permits a better understanding of law in general as well as a critical analysis of one’s own domestic legal system. The aim of this essay is to analyse the German constitution and its emphasis on human rights protection in the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) and to discuss whether it is a consequence resulting from Germany’s history. First, this essay will present an overview of Germany’s history with particular focus on the period of the Weimar Republic and the National Socialism. In the next section, it will outline the history of origins of the Basic Law as well as its catalogue of fundamental rights, followed by an illustration of the competences of the Federal Constitutional Court in contrast to its predecessors. Finally, a short comparison with regard to the American, French and British Constitution will be drawn.

This revised and fully up-to-date English translation of the 7th edition of the Casebook Verfassungsrecht includes a new outline of the German constitution, the BVerfG Court, and its jurisprudence. It condenses more than six decades of constitutional jurisprudence in order to familiarize readers with the style, technique, and language of the Court. As well as an analysis of the general principles of German constitutional law, the book covers the salient articles of the German Constitution and offers relevant extracts of the Court's most important decisions on the provisions of the Basic Law. It provides notes and discussions of landmark cases to illustrate their legal and historical context and give the reader a clear understanding of the principles governing German constitutional law. The book covers the fundamental rights catalogue of the Basic Law and offers a comprehensive account of its intellectual moorings. It includes landmark jurisprudence on the equal treatment of same-sex couples, life imprisonment, the legal structure of property, the right to assembly, and the right to informational self-presentation. The book also covers the provisions and respective case law governing the state structure of Germany, for instance the recent decisions on the prohibition of the far-right German nationalist party, and the Court's jurisprudence on European integration, including the most recent decisions on the OMT-program of the European Central Bank.