The Specific Judicial Review of Statutes Procedure before the German Federal Constitutional Court

In recent years, in many countries of the MENA region, courts and councils charged with constitutional review have been reformed. Some have been established for the first time, others have been given new competences.Also new procedures have been introduced, indicating a rising awareness for the importance of constitutional review as an instrument for judicial oversight. In this context, the Round Table intended to provide the participants with a deepened understanding of constitutional review procedures in Germany, with special emphasis on the Specific Judicial Review of Statutes procedure, its use, conditions, effects, and challenges.

The Round Table was opened by Prof. Dr. Malte Graßhof, President of the Constitutional Court of the State of Baden-Württemberg and President of the Administrative Court of Stuttgart. He outlined the function and competences of the regional constitutional court and introduced the principle of the division of competences between the federal state and the federal provinces. Dr. Stephan Neidhardt, Judge at the Administrative Court of Karlsruhe, presented the Specific Judicial Review of Statutes proceedings from the perspective of the referring court. He further illustrated the procedure on the basis of the order for reference 6 K 4048/14 which had been submitted by the Administrative Court of Karlsruhe to the Federal Constitutional Court, questioning whether the three-year reduction of the starting salary for new judges entering into an employment relationship with the State of Baden-Württemberg, as provided for in the “Landesbesoldungsgesetz”, is compatible with the German Basic Law. Particularly noteworthy in this case, the same morning the Round Table took place the Federal Constitutional Court ruled in favour of the Administrative Court of Karlsruhe, declaring the law to be unconstitutional. Using this example, Dr. Neidhardt pointed out the importance of the referring court thoroughly examining the legal situation, the case-law and carefully preparing its arguments before the proceedings are initiated. Professor Dr. Lübbe-Wolff, former Federal Constitutional Court judge, concluded the Round Table by presenting the Specific Judicial Review of Statutes from the point of view of the Federal Constitutional Court. 

This Round Table, offered a forum for expert discussions at the highest peer-to-peer level on cross-cutting questions related to constitutional review procedures, deepened the participant´s insights into the organization, procedures and daily works of a regional constitutional court, helped to create stronger ties and led to an exchange of expertise between judges of constitutional courts and councils of the MENA region.