Basic Law is an alternative to
constitutions in several legislatures. Here is the Preamble and first
Chapter - Basic Rights - of the version for the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Basic Rights section contains the first 19 articles of the 146 Articles
in the Basic Law. The further sections mostly refer to institutional structures.
[Here is a
link to a copy of the full Basic Law of Germany.]
Like the Magnacarta,
the Basic Law it is updated through court precedents, but not undermined
Conscious of their responsibility before God and man,
Inspired by the determination to promote world peace as an equal partner
in a united Europe, the German people, in the exercise of their constituent
power, have adopted this Basic Law.
Germans in the Länder of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin,
Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony,
Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia have achieved the unity
and freedom of Germany in free self-determination. This Basic Law thus
applies to the entire German people.
1. BASIC RIGHTS
Article 1 (Protection of human dignity).
- Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall
be the duty of all state authority.
- The German people therefore acknowledge inviolable and inalienable
human rights as the basis of every community, of peace and of justice
in the world.
- The following basic rights shall bind the legislature, the executive,
and the judiciary as directly applicable law.
Article 2 (Rights of liberty - personal
- Every person shall have the right to free development of his personality
insofar as he does not violate the rights of others or offend against
the constitutional order or the moral law.
- Every person shall have the right to life and physical integrity.
Freedom of the person shall be inviolable. These rights may be interfered
with only pursuant to a law.
Article 3 (Equality before the law).
- All persons shall be equal before the law.
- Men and women shall have equal rights. The state shall promote the
actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and take steps
to eliminate disadvantages that now exist.
- No person shall be favored or disfavored because of sex, parentage,
race, language, homeland and origin, faith, or religious or political
opinions. No person shall be disfavored because of disability.
Article 4 (Freedom of faith, of
conscience and of creed).
- Freedom of faith and of conscience, and freedom to profess a religious
or philosophical creed, shall be inviolable.
- The undisturbed practice of religion shall be guaranteed.
- No person shall be compelled against his conscience to render military
service involving the use of arms. Details shall be regulated by a federal
Article 5 (Freedom of expression).
- Every person shall have the right freely to express and disseminate
his opinions in speech, writing, and pictures and to inform himself
without hindrance from generally accessible sources. Freedom of the
press and freedom of reporting by means of broadcasts and films shall
be guaranteed. There shall be no censorship.
- These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general
laws, in provisions for the protection of young persons, and in the
right to personal honor.
- Art and scholarship, research, and teaching shall be free. The freedom
of teaching shall not release any person from allegiance to the constitution.
Article 6 (Marriage and the family;
children born outside of marriage).
- Marriage and the family shall enjoy the special protection of the
- The care and upbringing of children is the natural right of parents
and a duty primarily incumbent upon them. The state shall watch over
them in the performance of this duty.
- Children may be separated from their families against the will of
their parents or guardians only pursuant to a law, and only if the parents
or guardians fail in their duties or the children are otherwise in danger
of serious neglect.
- Every mother shall be entitled to the protection and care of the
- Children born outside of marriage shall be provided by legislation
with the same opportunities for physical and mental development and
for their position in society as are enjoyed by those born within marriage.
Article 7 (School education).
- The entire school system shall be under the supervision of the state.
- Parents and guardians shall have the right to decide whether children
shall receive religious instruction.
- Religious instruction shall form part of the regular curriculum in
state schools, with the exception of non-denominational schools. Without
prejudice to the state’s right of supervision, religious instruction
shall be given in accordance with the tenets of the religious community
concerned. Teachers may not be obliged against their will to give religious
- The right to establish private schools shall be guaranteed. Private
schools that serve as alternatives to state schools shall require the
approval of the State and shall be subject to the laws of the Länder.
Such approval shall be given when private schools are not inferior to
the state schools in terms of their educational aims, their facilities,
or the professional training of their teaching staff, and when segregation
of pupils according to the means of their parents will not be encouraged
thereby. Approval shall be withheld if the economic and legal position
of the teaching staff is not adequately assured.
- A private elementary school shall be approved only if the educational
authority finds that it serves a special pedagogical interest or if,
on the application of parents or guardians, it is to be established
as a denominational or interdenominational school or as a school based
on a particular philosophy and no state elementary school of that type
exists in the municipality.
- Preparatory schools shall remain abolished.
Article 8 (Freedom of assembly).
- All Germans shall have the right to assemble peacefully and unarmed
without prior notification or permission.
- In the case of outdoor assemblies, this right may be restricted by
or pursuant to a law.
Article 9 (Freedom of association).
- All Germans shall have the right to form corporations and other associations.
- Associations whose aims or activities contravene the criminal laws,
or that are directed against the constitutional order or the concept
of international understanding, shall be prohibited.
- The right to form associations to safeguard and improve working and
economic conditions shall be guaranteed to every individual and to every
occupation or profession. Agreements that restrict or seek to impair
this right shall be null and void; measures directed to this end shall
be unlawful. Measures taken pursuant to Article
12a, to paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article
35, to paragraph (4) of Article 87a,
or to Article 91 may not be directed against
industrial disputes engaged in by associations within the meaning of
the first sentence of this paragraph in order to safeguard and improve
working and economic conditions.
Article 10 (Privacy of correspondence,
posts, and telecommunications).
- he privacy of correspondence, posts and telecommunications shall be
- Restrictions may be ordered only pursuant to a law. If the restriction
serves to protect the free democratic basic order or the existence or
security of the Federation or of a Land, the law may provide that the
person affected shall not be informed of the restriction and that recourse
to the courts shall be replaced by a review of the case by agencies
and auxiliary agencies appointed by the legislature.
Article 11 (Freedom of movement).
- All Germans shall have the right to move freely throughout the federal
- This right may be restricted only by or pursuant to a law, and only
in cases in which the absence of adequate means of support would result
in a particular burden for the community, or in which such restriction
is necessary to avert an imminent danger to the existence or the free
democratic basic order of the Federation or of a Land, to combat the
danger of an epidemic, to respond to a grave accident or natural disaster,
to protect young persons from serious neglect, or to prevent crime.
Article 12 (Occupational
freedom; prohibition of forced labor).
- All Germans shall have the right freely to choose their occupation
or profession, their place of work, and their place of training. The
practice of an occupation or profession may be regulated by or pursuant
to a law.
- No person may be required to perform work of a particular kind except
within the framework of a traditional duty of community service that
applies generally and equally to all.
- Forced labor may be imposed only on persons deprived of their liberty
by the judgment of a court.
Article 12a (Compulsory
military or alternative service)
- Men who have attained the age of eighteen may be required to serve
in the Armed Forces, in the Federal Border Police, or in a civil defense
- Any person who, on grounds of conscience, refuses to render military
service involving the use of arms may be required to perform alternative
service. The duration of alternative service shall not exceed that of
military service. Details shall be regulated by a law, which shall not
interfere with the freedom to make a decision in accordance with the
dictates of conscience, and which shall also provide for the possibility
of alternative service not connected with units of the Armed Forces
or of the Federal Border Police.
- Persons liable to compulsory military service who are not called
upon to render service pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of this Article
may, when a state of defense is in effect, be assigned by or pursuant
to a law to employment involving civilian services for defense purposes,
including the protection of the civilian population; they may be assigned
to public employment only for the purpose of discharging police functions
or such other sovereign functions of public administration as can be
discharged only by persons employed in the public service. The employment
contemplated by the first sentence of this paragraph may include services
within the Armed Forces, in the provision of military supplies, or with
public administrative authorities; assignments to employment connected
with supplying and servicing the civilian population shall be permissible
only to meet their basic requirements or to guarantee their safety.
- If, during a state of defense, the need for civilian services in
the civilian health system or in stationary military hospitals cannot
be met on a voluntary basis, women between the ages of eighteen and
fifty-five may be called upon to render such services by or pursuant
to a law. Under no circumstances may they render service involving the
use of arms.
- Prior to the existence of a state of defense, assignments under paragraph
(3) of this Article may be made only if the requirements of paragraph
(1) of Article 80a are met. In preparation
for the provision of services under paragraph (3) of this Article that
demand special knowledge or skills, participation in training courses
may be required by or pursuant to a law. In this case the first sentence
of this paragraph shall not apply.
- If, during a state of defense, the need for workers in the areas
specified in the second sentence of paragraph (3) of this Article cannot
be met on a voluntary basis, the right of German citizens to abandon
their occupation or place of employment may be restricted by or pursuant
to a law in order to meet this need. Prior to the existence of a state
of defense, the first sentence of paragraph (5) of this Article shall
apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 13 (Inviolability of the
- The home is inviolable.
- Searches may be authorized only by a judge or, when time is of the
essence, by other authorities designated by the laws, and may be carried
out only in the manner therein prescribed.
- If particular facts justify the suspicion that any person has committed
an especially serious crime specifically defined by a law, technical
means of acoustical surveillance of any home in which the suspect is
supposedly staying may be employed pursuant to judicial order for the
purpose of prosecuting the offense, provided that alternative methods
of investigating the matter would be disproportionately difficult or
unproductive. The authorization shall be for a limited time. The order
shall be issued by a panel composed of three judges. When time is of
the essence, it may also be issued by a single judge.
- To avert acute dangers to public safety, especially dangers to life
or to the public, technical means of surveillance of the home may be
employed only pursuant to judicial order. When time is of the essence,
such measures may also be ordered by other authorities designated by
a law; a judicial decision shall subsequently be obtained without delay.
- If technical means are contemplated solely for the protection of persons
officially deployed in a home, the measure may be ordered by an authority
designated by a law. The information thereby obtained may be otherwise
used only for purposes of criminal prosecution or to avert danger and
only if the legality of the measure has been previously determined by
a judge; when time is of the essence, a judicial decision shall subsequently
be obtained without delay.
- The Federal Government shall report to the Bundestag annually as to
the employment of technical means pursuant to paragraph (3) and, within
the jurisdiction of the Federation, pursuant to paragraph (4) and, insofar
as judicial approval is required, pursuant to paragraph (5) of this
Article. A panel elected by the Bundestag shall exercise parliamentary
control on the basis of this report. A comparable parliamentary control
shall be afforded by the Länder.
- Interferences and restrictions shall otherwise only be permissible
to avert a danger to the public or to the life of an individual, or,
pursuant to a law, to confront an acute danger to public safety and
order, in particular to relieve a housing shortage, to combat the danger
of an epidemic, or to protect young persons at risk.
Article 14 (Property, inheritance,
- Property and the right of inheritance shall be guaranteed. Their
content and limits shall be defined by the laws.
- Property entails obligations. Its use shall also serve the public
- Expropriation shall only be permissible for the public good. It may
only be ordered by or pursuant to a law that determines the nature and
extent of compensation. Such compensation shall be determined by establishing
an equitable balance between the public interest and the interests of
those affected. In case of dispute respecting the amount of compensation,
recourse may be had to the ordinary courts..
Article 15 (Socialization).
Land, natural resources, and means of production may for the purpose
of socialization be transferred to public ownership or other forms of
public enterprise by a law that determines the nature and extent of
compensation. With respect to such compensation the third and fourth
sentences of paragraph (3) of Article 14 shall
apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 16 (Citizenship; extradition).
- No German may be deprived of his citizenship. Citizenship may be
lost only pursuant to a law, and against the will of t
- No German may be extradited to a foreign country.
Article 16a (Right of asylum)
- Persons persecuted on political grounds shall have the right of asylum.
- Paragraph (1) of this Article may not be invoked by a person who
enters the federal territory from a member state of the European Communities
or from another third state in which application of the Convention Relating
to the Status of Refugees and of the Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is assured. The states outside
the European Communities to which the criteria of the first sentence
of this paragraph apply shall be specified by a law requiring the consent
of the Bundesrat. In the cases specified in the first sentence of this
paragraph, measures to terminate an applicant’s stay may be implemented
without regard to any legal challenge that may have been instituted
- By a law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat, states may be specified
in which, on the basis of their laws, enforcement practices, and general
political conditions, it can be safely concluded that neither political
persecution nor inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment exists.
It shall be presumed that a foreigner from such a state is not persecuted,
unless he presents evidence justifying the conclusion that, contrary
to this presumption, he is persecuted on political grounds.
- In the cases specified by paragraph (3) of this Article and in other
cases that are plainly unfounded or considered to be plainly unfounded,
the implementation of measures to terminate an applicant’s stay
may be suspended by a court only if serious doubts exist as to their
legality; the scope of review may be limited, and tardy objections may
be disregarded. Details shall be determined by a law.
- Paragraphs (1) through (4) of this Article shall not preclude the
conclusion of international agreements of member states of the European
Communities with each other or with those third states which, with due
regard for the obligations arising from the Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms, whose enforcement must be assured in the contracting
states, adopt rules conferring jurisdiction to decide on applications
for asylum, including the reciprocal recognition of asylum decisions.
Article 17 (Right of petition).
Every person shall have the right individually or jointly with others
to address written requests or complaints to competent authorities and
to the legislature.
Article 17a (Restriction
of certain basic rights by laws respecting defense and alternative service).
- Laws respecting military and alternative service may provide that
the basic right of members of the Armed Forces and of alternative service
freely to express and disseminate their opinions in speech, writing,
and pictures (first clause of paragraph (1) of Article
5), the basic right of assembly (Article 8),
and the right of petition (Article 17) insofar
as it permits the submission of requests or complaints jointly with
others, be restricted during their period of military or alternative
- Laws respecting defense, including protection of the civilian population,
may provide for restriction of the basic rights of freedom of movement
(Article 11) and inviolability of the home
Article 18 (Forfeiture of basic
Whoever abuses the freedom of expression, in particular the freedom
of the press (paragraph (1) of Article 5), the
freedom of teaching (paragraph (3) of Article 5),
the freedom of assembly (Article 8), the freedom
of association (Article 9), the privacy of correspondence,
posts and telecommunications (Article 10),
the rights of property (Article 14), or the
right of asylum (Article 16a)
in order to combat the free democratic basic order shall forfeit these
basic rights. This forfeiture and its extent shall be declared by the
Federal Constitutional Court.
Article 19 (Restriction of basic
- Insofar as, under this Basic Law, a basic right may be restricted
by or pursuant to a law, such law must apply generally and not merely
to a single case. In addition, the law must specify the basic right
affected and the Article in which it appears.
- In no case may the essence of a basic right be affected.
- The basic rights shall also apply to domestic artificial persons
to the extent that the nature of such rights permits.
- Should any person’s rights be violated by public authority,
he may have recourse to the courts. If no other jurisdiction has been
established, recourse shall be to the ordinary courts. The second sentence
of paragraph (2) of Article 10 shall not be
affected by this paragraph.
- mutatis mutandis
- With all due adjustments or modifications having been made.
- Articles 20 onwards
can be seen at iuscomp.org.