Constitutional Effectiveness

This book presents a unique account of the social and political impacts of the German Basic Law on the German Republic from 1949 to the present day. It considers the way in which the history of the Federal Republic of Germany has been decisively influenced by its Constitution, the Basic Law of 1949, and by the jurisprudence of the Federal Constitutional Court. The book argues that the historiography of the Federal Republic does little to reflect this influence. The Basic Law is mentioned and so are occasionally rulings of the Federal Constitutional Court. But the reader does not get the impression that they were of specific importance in Germany before and after reunification. Legal scholars, on the other hand, are concerned about the legal consequences of the Basic Law, but do not analyse its impact in the real world. There is, thus, a gap between the two disciplines – one not being familiar with social reality, the other not familiar with the normativity of the law. The history of the effectiveness of the constitution falls into this gap. In this book, Dieter Grimm, himself a Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court from 1987 to 1999 and an expert on interdisciplinary research in law, history and political science, guides the reader through important developments and events that were determined or influenced by the constitution and its judicial interpretation.

Table of Contents:
Preface Note On The Selection of Historiographic Literature 1. Constitutional History and General History 2. Making and Content of the Basic Law 3. The Beginnings of Constitutional Adjudication 4. Constitutional Change by Way of Amendments 5. Attempt for a Total Revision of the Basic Law 6. The Constitutional Question in the Process of Unification 7. The Liberalisation of Society as a Question of Fundamental Rights 8. The Impact of the Constitution on the Media System 9. The Social-liberal Reforms at Test 10. The Taming of the Party State 11. The Realisation of Gender Equality 12. The Basic Law in the Risk Society 13. The Constitution in the Process of Uniting East and West 14. The Federal Republic as Member State of the EU 15. The Underestimated Constitutionalisation of Politics Annex: The Role of the Law in Societal History Reading Recommendations for Historic Research

About the Author :
Dieter Grimm is an internationally renowned authority on constitutional law, constitutional theory, constitutional history and constitutional adjudication.