Republic principle

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The principle of the republic is one of the principles of the state structure of the Federal Republic of Germany (see Eternity Clause ) laid down in Article 20, Paragraph 1 and Article 28, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law (GG) and unalterable in accordance with Article 79, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law (see Eternity Clause ) Federal Republic of Germany is a republic .

Concept history

The term “republic” has its origin in the second Roman constitution, the Roman Republic . The Latin root word res publica stands for public affairs , community and state as well as state authority . Based on the philosophical ideas of the Greeks, Cicero interpreted the state as a matter of the people in De re publica : Res publica res populi - in the translation in Epanodos: public matter; Cause of the people .

In Central Europe, the form of government took shape at the end of the 18th century via the French Revolution , according to the ideas of the state thinkers Rousseau and Montesquieu , in order to represent a permanent tradition via the two brief state foundings in Northern Italy and the Weimar period . The Weimar Imperial Constitution enshrined the principle in 1919, enshrined in Article 1 of the Weimar Imperial Constitution . The renunciation of the monarchy was expressed , at the same time also a rejection of the Soviet-style Soviet republic . In this respect, the republic is the counter-model to absolute or constitutional monarchy or higher legitimation in the sense of divine grace .

The concept of the republic leads to irritation again and again, as the most diverse state structures have it in their name. Conclusions about the structure of the state are hardly possible, because democratic, communist but also fundamentally Islamist state constitutions can be concealed behind them, such as France (Republique Francaise), the GDR or Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran). Most of the time, republic only means something like state.

Definition of the republic in the Federal Republic

The commentators on the Basic Law exhausted themselves in explaining the negation of the term by stating that the constitutional term “republican” contained a rejection of the monarchy and the dynastic principle. In addition, the term is viewed as a designation for a liberal and public welfare-oriented form of government, which was realized through the anchoring of basic rights and the rule of law and democracy principle, antimonarchical, antidespotic and, as a result, also anti-totalitarian.

In the last few decades, the concept of constitutional law has received relatively little importance, which is why Josef Isensee - despite its two thousand year history - has exposed it as an empty, meaningless phrase. KA Schachtschneider recognizes that the concept of republic has been empowered by the principles of democracy, the social and the rule of law, so that it is subject to great restrictions.

Republic principle in the Basic Law

The legal bases for Germany's principle of republic are anchored in Article 20.1 and Article 28.1 of the Basic Law. The term already appears in the heading of the Basic Law and was part of the preamble of the West German state of the Federal Republic of Germany before German reunification . Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law declares the state to be a republic with legal effect and, alongside the republic principle, places the constitutional principles of democracy and the welfare state . All principles have constitutional status. Art. 28 GG contains the postulate of all individual federal states to also guarantee republican structures (so-called homogeneity requirement ).

According to Article 21, Paragraph 2, Sentence 1 of the Basic Law, parties are unconstitutional if they endanger the continued existence of the Federal Republic , because the concept of republic contained in the name of the state develops normative effects. Via the eternity clause of Art. 79 Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law, the Basic Law certifies that the principle of republic should be an unchangeable constant. It expresses the fact that the fundamental decision of the existing constitutional order has to remain untouched. This also means that no other form of government than the republic can be created de lege lata , for example by dissolving the constitution within the meaning of Article 146 of the Basic Law. The basic decision of Article 79, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law covers constitutional laws that come into being under Article 146 of the Basic Law.

literature

  • Ralph Balzer: Republic principle and civil service . At the same time dissertation at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg 2008, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-428-12905-8 .
  • Karsten Nowrot: The principle of republic in the legal order community: methodical approximations to the normality of a constitutional principle . Also habilitation thesis at the University of Halle-Wittenberg 2012, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2014, ISBN 3-16-153114-0 .
  • Horst Dreier : Art. 20 (Republic) , in: Horst Dreier (Ed.), Basic Law Commentary , Vol. 2, 2nd edition 2006 pp. 11-25.
  • Rolf Gröschner : Die Republik , in: Isensee / Kirchhof (Ed.): Handbuch des Staatsrechts der Bundes Republik Deutschland , Volume II, 3rd edition 2004, pp. 369–428.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Pfeifer (Ed.): Etymological Dictionary of German , 3 volumes: Akademie Verlag, 1995, (digital: part of the DWDS , based on the 2nd edition of the three-volume version from 1993), p. 1117 sv Republik.
  2. ^ Rolf Gröschner : The Republic . In: Isensee / Kirchhof (Ed.), Handbuch des Staatsrechts der Bundes Republik Deutschland , Volume II, Verfassungsstaat, 3rd edition 2004, § 23 Rn. 16 (referring to the Greek term: politeia , which cannot be ignored in the history of ideas).
  3. ^ Cicero : De re publica I, 39.
  4. ^ Ralph Balzer: Republic principle and civil service. , Public Law Writings, Volume 1120, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2008, p. 30.
  5. ^ Ralph Balzer: Republic principle and civil service. , Public Law Writings, Volume 1120, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2008, p. 22.
  6. ^ Ralph Balzer: Republic principle and civil service. , Publications on Public Law, Volume 1120, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2008, p. 21.
  7. ↑ Klaus Stern : The constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. , Volume I, Basic Concepts and Fundamentals of Constitutional Law, Structural Principles of the Constitution , 2nd ed. 1984, p. 581 f.
  8. ↑ Roman Herzog, in Maunz-Dürig, Basic Law , Art. 20, Section III, Rn. 5.
  9. ↑ Josef Isensee: Republic - Meaning Potential of a Term in JZ 1981, p. 1.
  10. ^ Karl Albrecht Schachtschneider : Res publica, res populi. Foundation of a general doctrine of the republic. A contribution to the theory of freedom, law and the state, 1994, p. 12.
  11. ^ Gerhard Köbler : Lexicon of European Legal History , 1997, p. 163, sv Freistaat.
  12. ^ Wilhelm Henke : The Republic . In: Isensee / Kirchhof (ed.), Handbuch des Staatsrechts der Bundes Republik Deutschland, Volume I, Basis von Staat und Verfassungs, 2nd edition 1995, § 21, p. 864 ff.
  13. ↑ Roman Herzog in Maunz-Dürig , Basic Law , Art. 20, Section III, Rn. 2.
  14. ↑ The Parliamentary Council 1948–1949, files and protocols, ed. from the German Bundestag and the Federal Archives , Volume V / 2, 1993, 522.
  15. ^ Peter Badura : Constitutional Law. Systematic explanation of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. , 3rd edition 2003, Rn. 64.
  16. ^ Konrad Hesse : Basic features of the constitutional law of the Federal Republic of Germany. 20th edition 1994, p. 707.