Synopses & Reviews
Kommers’s comprehensive work surveys the development of German constitutional doctrine between 1949, when the Federal Constitutional Court was founded, and 1996. Extensively revised and expanded to take into account recent developments since German unification, this second edition describes the background, structure, and functions of the Court and provides extensive commentary on German constitutional interpretation, and includes translations of seventy-eight landmark decisions. These cases include the highly controversial religious liberty and free speech cases handed down in 1995.
Review
Praise for the first edition:“The Constitutional Jurisprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany is a gold mine for scholars interested in German or West European politics, for those interested in comparative law and comparative politics as well. It fills an aching void in our knowledge.”—Walter F. Murphy, Princeton University
Review
“Lawyers will benefit from the way Kommers has situated legal material in its political context, and political scientists will have a clear, accurate, and readable account of the law.”—Mary Ann Glendon, Harvard Law School
About the Author
Donald P. Kommers is Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor of Government and International Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
Table of Contents
Foreword to the Second Edition
David P. Currie ix
Foreword to the First Edition Roman Herzog xi
Preface to the Second Edition xiii
Note on Translation and Judicial Opinions xvii
Abbreviations xxi
Part I West German Constitutionalism 1
The Federal Constitutional Court 3
The Basic Law and Its Interpretation 30
Part II Constitutional Structures and Relationships 59
Federalism 61
Separation of Powers 115
Political Representation and Democracy 166
Part III Basic Rights and Liberties 239
Economic Liberties 241
Human Dignity and Personhood 298
Freedom of Speech 360
Freedom of Conscience and Religion 443
Appendix A 507
Appendix B 519
Notes 523
Table of Cases 591
Index 601