Constitutional Jurisdiction and the Corona Crisis: Some Aspects from the German Experience
Constitutional Jurisdiction and the Corona Crisis: Some Aspects from the German Experience

Summary/Abstract: The fight against the Covid-19 crisis is being conducted in Germany on the basis of the Federal Law on Protection against Infectious Diseases and has led to numerous restrictions, particularly in the area of fundamental rights. Nevertheless, the requirements of the Rule of Law have been respected. Fundamental rights have been restricted in accordance with the rules of the Basic Law and jurisdiction has been fully maintained. The constitutional justice has the final say on the constitutionality of the restrictions. In accordance with the German federal system, measures to combat the restrictions based on the above-mentioned federal law are implemented by the executive authorities of the Länder, the Member States of the Federation, mainly by means of regulations. These are executive normative acts which are reviewed by the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) of the Land (the Member State) in accordance with par. 47 of the Code of Administrative Justice (CAJ) and, if this is unsuccessful, by the Federal Constitutional Court by means of a constitutional complaint, as a rule in a preliminary procedure. However, a number of such procedures have failed due to the subsidiarity of the constitutional complaint. The analysis of the jurisprudence shows the clear tendency that most of the measures are considered as conforming to the Constitution.

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