Article 31 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
Article 31 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany contains a conflict of law rule in the federal German legal system .
Normalization
Competencies in the state
The regulation standardizes the priority of any federal law ( Basic Law , Federal Laws, Federal Ordinances) over any state law (state constitution, state laws, state ordinances, statutes). A mere regulation at the federal level itself takes precedence over a state constitution. But that does not mean that every action by the federal government automatically takes precedence over that of the states.
The competence to regulate a legal matter initially lies exclusively with the Länder ( Article 30 ). The federal government can only dispose of competencies if the Basic Law expressly provides for this. The Basic Law can only be changed jointly by the Federation and the Länder (via the Bundesrat).
According to the prevailing opinion, the provision presupposes federal law in accordance with competencies . Federal law contrary to competency would be void and therefore not capable of breaking state law.
