German constitution

The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitutional law of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Basic Law was approved on 8 May 1949 in Bonn, and, with the signature of the western Allies of World War II on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May. Its original field of application (German: Geltungsbereich) comprised the states of the Trizone that were initially included in the then West German Federal Republic of Germany, but not West Berlin. As part of the Two Plus Four Agreement of 1990 between the two parts of Germany and all four Allied Powers, a series of amendments were agreed to be implemented. In the subsequent Unification Treaty of 1990, this amended Basic Law was adopted as the constitution for a united Germany.

The German word Grundgesetz may be translated as either Basic Law or Fundamental Law (Grund is cognate with the English word ground). The term Verfassung (constitution) was not used, as the drafters regarded the Grundgesetz as an interim arrangement for a provisional West German state; expecting that an ultimate reunified Germany would adopt a full-blown constitution enacted under the provisions of Article 146 of the Basic Law, where it is stipulated that such a constitution must be "freely adopted by the German people". Nevertheless, although the amended Basic Law was finally to be approved in 1990 by the full Allied Powers (who thereby relinquished their continued reserved constitutional rights); neither in 1949 nor in 1990 was it submitted to a popular vote.

The authors of the Basic Law sought to ensure that a potential dictator would never again have the chance to come into power in the country. Although some of the Basic Law is based on the Weimar republic constitution, the authors also ensured that human rights and human dignity were made central and core parts of the Basic Law. The principles of democracy, republicanism, social responsibility, and federalism are key components of the Basic Law; the principles underlying these articles are constitutionally entrenched; and, although several of these articles have since been reworded, extended or refined, they are barred from being removed or repealed by the normal amendment process.

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