German Constitutional Law Introduction, Cases, and Principles

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.

Christian Bumke is Professor of Public Law and Foundations of Law at Bucerius Law School, Hamburg. His published work includes The Development of the Fundamental Rights (2009). Andreas Voßkuhle is the President of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, and Professor of Public Law, General Theory of the State, and Legal Philosophy at the University of Freiburg. He has published widely on comparative constitutional law and the cooperation of constitutional courts.