Why Legislate Intersectional Gender Parity Acts for Parliaments? The Case of Germany
The German Constitution provides in Article 3 (2) that “[m]en and women shall have equal rights. The state shall promote the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men...
Climate Change and Fundamental Freedoms: The German Constitutional Court Orders Legislature to Rectify Climate Change Law
On March 24, 2021, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany held certain provisions of the 2019 Federal Climate Change Act (‘KSG’) to be incompatible with their rights under the German...
Equal Marriage – Unequal Parenthood
In 2017, same-sex couples in Germany were granted the right to marry. While the legislator’s decision was celebrated at the time, much remains to be done. In particular, the law...
The Curious Notion of “merely perceived intersexuality“
In a recent decision, the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof – BGH) ruled that the newly introduced section 45b and section 22(3) of the German Civil Status Act (Personenstandsgesetz...
Germany’s Ban on Conversion Therapy: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back
Conversion therapy (CT) is a constellation of medical, psychoanalytic, behavioural, religious techniques and interventions, that seek to alter an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. It stigmatises same-sex attraction...
Horizontality and the Constitutional Right to Equality– Recent Developments in the Jurisprudence of the German Federal Constitutional Court
Two recent decisions by the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht – BVerfG) shed new light on the horizontal effects of the constitutional right to equality in private law relationships. The...
Unveiling Judicial Neutrality: Do Headscarves belong in German Courtrooms?
In Germany headscarf bans in a variety of public institutions have sparked large disagreement in society and posed a challenge for courts and legislatures for some time. The most recent...
Women’s Suffrage in Germany
Given the political and constitutional history of the 18th and 19th centuries, universal suffrage and free and fair elections are a hard won freedom in Germany. Currently, Article 38 of...
“Anyone can make claims” – Is the KiK case proof of access to remedy against corporate human rights violations?
There are many hurdles preventing victims of corporate rights abuses overseas from bringing claims in European courts against European companies and accessing an effective remedy. The claim against German retailer...
A Step in the Right Direction for Minority Gender Recognition in Germany
In its decision from October 10 2017, published on November 8 – just on the Intersex Day of Solidarity – the German Constitutional Court (BVerfG) has ruled that certain provisions...
The Great Balancing Act: Countering Online Hate Speech While Protecting Freedom of Expression
German lawmakers have recently passed a controversial law, ‘Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz’ (Network Enforcement Act or NetzDG), which, in part, aims to counter online hate speech. Under the Act, social media companies operating...
German Federal Constitutional Court Says No Civilian War Damages for NATO Air Strike in Serbia
The German Federal Constitutional Court has rejected constitutional complaints lodged by Serbian citizens in relation to a NATO air strike in the Serbian city of Varvarin on 30 May 1999....
