Fundamental rights and the rule of law

Article 1 is the most important sentence of the Basic Law and it is the answer to many questions: human dignity is inviolable, and to respect and protect it is the duty of all state power.

• Article 2: everybody has the right to the free development of their personality and to life and physical integrity, as long as they do not violate the rights of others.
• The death penalty is abolished (Article 102). Torture is forbidden.
• The rights of the Basic Law apply to all people in Germany, and some (the “Deutschenrechte”, such as the freedom of assembly) apply only to Germans.
• These rights are directly applicable law: a person can go to court to defend them, up to the Federal Constitutional Court.

Exam tip: If a question asks about the most important basic right or the first article: Article 1, human dignity.

Several articles protect the freedoms of the person. Learn the main ones with the number of the article.

• Article 4: freedom of faith, conscience and religious belief. Everybody can follow a religion or none, and there is no state church.
• Article 5: freedom of opinion, of the press, of art and of science. There is no censorship, but the freedom has limits, for example hate speech (Volksverhetzung) and insults are punished.
• Article 8: freedom of assembly (Versammlungsfreiheit), peaceful and without weapons. Article 9: freedom of association: everybody can form associations, unions and parties.
• Article 10: the secrecy of letters, post and telecommunications. Article 13: the inviolability of the home. Article 11: freedom of movement in the whole federal territory.
• Article 12: freedom to choose an occupation. Article 16a: persons who are politically persecuted have the right of asylum.

Article 3 says that all people are equal before the law. Equality between women and men is a question of every year.

• Women and men have equal rights (Gleichberechtigung). The state works for the real enforcement of this equality.
• Nobody may be disadvantaged or favoured because of sex, descent, race, language, homeland, origin, faith, religious or political opinions, or disability.
• The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) forbids discrimination at work and when renting a flat or buying goods and services.
• Marriage and family are under the special protection of the state (Article 6). Marriage needs the free consent of both persons; a forced marriage is a crime. Violence in the family is punished.
• Same-sex couples can marry since 2017, and women have had the right to vote since 1918.

The judges are independent and are bound only by the law. Nobody, not even the government, can tell a judge how to decide.

• The Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) in Karlsruhe checks that laws agree with the Basic Law. Citizens can complain to it if they think the state violated a basic right (Verfassungsbeschwerde).
• Ordinary courts judge civil and criminal cases: Amtsgericht, Landgericht, Oberlandesgericht and, at the top, the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof), also in Karlsruhe.
• There are special courts for work (Arbeitsgericht), for social matters (Sozialgericht), for the administration (Verwaltungsgericht) and for tax matters (Finanzgericht).
• Everybody has the right to be heard by a court, to a lawyer, and to a fair trial; a person is innocent until proved guilty. The police must follow the law.
• The emergency numbers are 110 for the police and 112 for the fire brigade and the ambulance.

Exam tip: Karlsruhe = Bundesverfassungsgericht and Bundesgerichtshof. 110 police, 112 fire and ambulance.

The Basic Law protects your freedom, and it also expects that you respect the law and the rights of others.

• Everybody must obey the law and pay taxes and contributions to the social insurance according to their income.
• School attendance is compulsory (Schulpflicht): children must go to school from the age of about six, and parents cannot keep them at home for religious or other reasons.
• Voting is a right and a civic duty, but there is no legal obligation. Citizens can be called as lay judges (Schöffen).
• The compulsory military service was suspended in 2011. Property obliges: its use must serve the common good (Article 14).