German Legal Research

The Federal Republic of Germany (commonly referred to as Germany) is a democratic nation governed by the rule of law. Its government is organized into three branches: the judiciary, the executive, and the legislative. Germany follows the civil law tradition, in which written statutes and codes play a central role in the legal system.

The Federal Republic (Bundesrepublik) consists of 16 states, known as länder (lands). Federal laws apply nationwide, while each Land has its own constitution and authority to enact legislation and bylaws within the framework of the Basic Law/Constitution (Grundgesetz).

The German president (Bundespräsident), who serves as the head of state, is elected indirectly by a Federal Convention, which consists of all members of the federal parliament (Bundestag) and an equal number of delegates from the 16 federated states. The president is elected for a five-year term and may be re-elected once. After federal parliamentary elections, the party or coalition with a majority of seats typically nominates the chancellor, who serves as the head of government. The chancellor is then elected by the Bundestag and formally appointed by the president for a renewable four-year term.

Due to Germany’s federal structure, the court system is also organized on a federal basis. Jurisdiction is exercised both by federal courts and by the courts of the 16 Lands. The majority of judicial administration is handled by the Lands.

At the federal level, the German court system is divided into five independent specialized branches, or jurisdictions:

In addition, Germany has a system of constitutional jurisdiction, composed of the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) and the constitutional courts of the lands. All other courts in Germany fall under the jurisdiction of the respective Land.

The legal hierarchy of laws at the national level in Germany is as follows:

Basic law (Constitution)

General rules of international law (including customary international law and the general principles of international law)

Federal laws and other treaties that deal with Germany’s political relations or matters requiring federal legislation

Laws of the Lands (states)

Statutory instruments (general regulations adopted by the executive on the basis of statutory authorization)

Bylaws (general regulations adopted by municipalities or other bodies under statutory authorization)

The Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) is published daily and serves as the federal government’s channel for announcing federal laws, statutory instruments, and other mandatory official notices. Promulgation of an act occurs at this stage. If the act does not specify a particular date for its entry into force, it will take effect on the 14th day following its publication in the Federal Law Gazette.

The Constitution is called Basic Law and was adopted in 1949; since then, it has been amended. Its official version is in German.

An English version of the Constitution and a list of its amendments are also available.

Treaties by Subject

Germany is a federal republic composed of 16 states known as Länder (lands). Federal laws apply nationwide, while each Land has its own constitution and authority to enact legislation and regulations in accordance with the Basic Law (Grundgesetz). The Bundestag (Federal Parliament) serves as the main legislative body and represents the people, while the Bundesrat represents the interests of the Länder at the federal level. 

Resources:

Unofficial English translations for many of the codes are available. Among them are:  

Resources: 

Statutory instruments (regulations) are general rules enacted by the executive authority under appropriate legislative approval.

Judgments are binding only on the parties involved in the respective proceedings. However, case law plays a crucial role in the German legal system, as lower courts usually follow similar decisions previously established by higher courts. Below are some links to find state and federal decisions:

European Union Terminology - IATE (English-German) 

Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (In German)

Lexis+

This database has several practical resources, including:

Westlaw

This database has several practical resources, including:

Vital Law

This database has several practical resources, including:

Kluwer Law Online

This database has several practical resources, including:

Lexology Panoramic

This resource offers a comprehensive overview of varying laws and regulations across jurisdictions, written by leading global practitioners on different topics, such as:

Bloomberg Law 

This database contains various practical resources, which include:

The author would like to express his gratitude to Michael Rass and Andreas Knobelsdorf for their valuable contributions to this guide. The author also wishes to acknowledge the outstanding work of Jennifer Allison on the previous research guide on this subject.

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