Article 16 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany

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Article 16 in the original version at the Reichstag - a work by Dani Karavan on the glass panes at the Jakob-Kaiser-Haus on the Spree side

Article 16 of the German Basic Law (GG) is in the first section, which guarantees fundamental rights . In its paragraph 1 it guarantees the protection against the withdrawal of German citizenship and in paragraph 2 the protection against extradition of Germans abroad.

Article 16 of the Basic Law has been included in the Basic Law since its entry into force and originally also guaranteed the right to asylum . With the asylum compromise , this part was outsourced to the newly created Art. 16a with the constitutional amendment by law of June 28, 1993 .

Normalization

Art. 16 GG has read as follows since its last amendment on December 2, 2000:

(1) German citizenship may not be withdrawn. The loss of citizenship may only occur on the basis of a law and against the will of the person concerned only if the person concerned does not become stateless as a result.

(2) No German may be extradited abroad. By law, a different regulation for extraditions to a member state of the European Union or to an international court of law can be made, provided that the rule of law is observed.

Art. 16 para. 1 GG

From a historical perspective, the regulation in paragraph 1 is a reaction to the arbitrary withdrawal of citizenship during the National Socialist era for political, religious or racist reasons. Statelessness should also be prevented.

Article 16 (1) of the Basic Law protects Germans from losing their citizenship. The regulation does not prescribe how citizenship is acquired. For this purpose, the legislature itself had to make legal regulations through the StÄG.

There is always an interference with this fundamental right when a state measure leads to the loss of citizenship. The authorities' contestation of paternity leads to interference if the child loses German citizenship as a result.

A so-called withdrawal , as formulated in Article 16 (1) sentence 1 of the Basic Law, is generally inadmissible . This withdrawal includes cases in which the person concerned cannot reasonably influence the measure leading to the loss. According to this, an illegitimately granted nationality can be withdrawn ( Section 48 VwVfG) if the applicant made the mistake, for example by having acquired his naturalization through deception.

Outside of the withdrawal , a loss according to Art. 16 (1) sentence 2 GG is possible on the basis of a legal basis. The person concerned must not become stateless if the loss is caused against the will of the person concerned. Statelessness is already fulfilled when the other state cannot offer the person concerned the protection of the quality of a citizen.

Art. 16 para. 2 GG

Article 16 (2) of the Basic Law protects remaining in the federal territory. The person concerned must be German i. S. d. Art. 116 para. 1 GG and reside in federal territory. Entry itself is not protected.

According to Article 16 (2) sentence 2 of the Basic Law, extradition is only possible if a legal regulation has been created for this and the person concerned is to be transferred either to another member state of the European Union or to an international court of justice. A transfer to such an international court of law is only permissible if it was established under international law and Germany has acceded to this international treaty regulation. Other requirements include: a. the guarantee of constitutional principles and a comparable protection of fundamental rights.

So-called expulsion or deportation does not constitute extradition .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andreas Meßmann, Thorsten Kornblum: Basic cases to Art. 16, 16a GG in JuS 2009, 810.
  2. ↑ BVerfGE 116, 24 margin no. 7. Web link
  3. ↑ BVerfGE 14, 142/150.
  4. ↑ Hans Jarass: Art. 16 para. 2 In: Jarass / Pieroth: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany . Verlag CH Beck, 15th edition, Munich 2018 with further information.
  5. ↑ BVerfGE 135, 48, margin no. 25th
  6. ↑ BVerfGE 116, 24/44; 135, 48 margin no. 28; BVerwGE 143, 171 margin no. 32.
  7. ↑ BVerfGE 116, 24 / 44f.
  8. ↑ BVerfGE 135, 48 margin no. 48.
  9. ↑ Hans Jarass: Art. 16 para. 11 In: Jarass / Pieroth: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany . Verlag CH Beck, 15th edition, Munich 2018 with further information.
  10. ↑ BVerfGE 29, 183 / 192f.
  11. ↑ Hans Jarass: Art. 16 para. 14 In: Jarass / Pieroth: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany . Verlag CH Beck, 15th edition, Munich 2018.
  12. ↑ Jörn Axel Kämmerer: Art. 16 Rn. 140 In: Bonn Commentary on the Basic Law . Loose-leaf collection. Status: November 2017.
  13. ↑ Hans Jarass: Art. 16 para. 22 In: Jarass / Pieroth: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany . Verlag CH Beck, 15th edition, Munich 2018.
  14. ↑ Hans Jarass: Art. 16 para. 17 In: Jarass / Pieroth: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany . Verlag CH Beck, 15th edition, Munich 2018.