Rechtsschutz im Bund-Länder-Verhältnis
Legal Protection in the Relationship between the Federation and the States in Germany

Author(s): Stefan Haack
Subject(s): Constitutional Law, Public Law, Government/Political systems, Politics and law
Published by: Fondacija Centar za javno pravo
Keywords: Legal protection; Germany; federation and states; federal system; constitution; German federalism;
Summary/Abstract: This article investigates the justiciability of the relationship between the Federation and the States within the federal system in Germany. Firstly, it will be discussed if it is possible to refer to subjective rights of the involved parties regarding the competences in the federal State. Moreover, the question about the existence of a legal basis („if“) and the question about the control of limits of the exercise of powers („how“) will be distinguished. Furthermore, the possibilities of a legal enforcement of rights and obligations resulting from the relationship between the Federation and the States will be examined in some selected fields. The selected fields include disputes about legislative authority, jurisdiction for administration, budgetary constitutional law, disputes resulting from contracts between the Federation and the States and about the use of coercive action. The main emphasis has been put on the distinction between the legal protection in constitutional and general courts. The overall presentation of legal protection in the relationship between the Federation and the States shows that this relationship forms justiciable relations under the German Basic Law. Accordingly, the German federalism is rightly called „justiciable federalism“.

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