Znaczenie Związkowego Trybunału Konstytucyjnego w ustroju konstytucyjnym Republiki Federalnej Niemiec

Abstract

Germany's agreement with the GDR was one of the elements of the German government's so-called Eastern policy, which favoured relaxation and regulation of political relations in Europe. The Bavarian Government's proposal made the implementation of the treaty conditional on a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, since the Court, in accordance with Article 93(1)(2) of the Basic Law, was competent to assess the constitutionality of the treaty and had the power to declare it invalid and thus exclude it from the system of applicable law. The article consists of two parts. The first captures the legal foundations of the Federal Constitutional Court, the substantive jurisdiction, composition, organisation, proceedings and the binding force of its decisions. The second part contains an analysis of the functions the Court performs in the legal system and the constitutional system of the state. In analysing both the legal basis of the Court's activities and its functions in the constitutional system of Germany, a legal-dogmatic method was used, without extensive reference to the Court's case law.