Economy and Social Matters

After experiencing two regimes in the 20th century that were opposed to the rule of law, Germans hold in very high esteem the idea of a state that is governed by the rule of law. This concept arose in Germany in the 19th century, long before the country became a democracy. For several decades - until the beginning of the Weimar Republic in 1919 - a state governed by the rule of law was a kind of substitute for the late arrival of democracy in our country. Democracy means that all the legitimate authority in a state derives from the will of the people. To a state governed by the rule of law, on the other hand, the source of the state's authority is immaterial; the way in which the state's authority is exerted is what matters, regardless of who rules in the state - a prince, an aristocracy, a dictator or the people. The power they wield, however, must respect the limits, forms and procedures of the law.

A "state governed by the rule of law" means that social life and, in particular, political power, are subordinated to the law's rules. In a state governed by the rule of law, even the people, the agents of state authority and the most important source of authority in a democracy, cannot give free rein to its will for political change whenever it feels like it, but is also bound by the rules laid down in the constitution about whether, how, and when the democratic will may be exercised. The law makes it possible for the sovereignty of a people to be exercised, while at the same channelling it along orderly and predictable lines. Under Article 20 Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law, the legislature is bound by the constitutional order, the executive and the judiciary by law and justice. The political parties, too, through which the people in a democracy express themselves and participate in forming a political will, are subject to a complex set of rules under the Basic Law.

What is so special about the law, that it should be given such high status, even leaving its mark on democracy? The law's characteristic feature is that it enables even people who are fundamentally different in important questions concerning human existence to coexist in an orderly fashion. Moral or religious communities are based on a fundamental agreement among their members on moral and religious questions, and before the rule of law prevailed, political communities such as the state used to insist on the principle of ethnic homogeneity. Modern totalitarian regimes do everything they can to bring about the political and ideological conformity of their citizens by force. For all these forms of human coexistence, the principle was that "What is different is wrong".

The law, on the other hand, creates a community among the people where they are allowed to be different from one another, and yet they can live together in harmony - a legal community is neutral towards the variety of lifestyles, faiths and moral principles, and only regulates individuals' behaviour, applying the same standards to all, without regard for their faith, origin, political opinions, sex or moral beliefs. The law thereby fulfils two conditions fundamental for human coexistence: firstly, it creates social trust among the members of the legal community, leading to social interaction being predictable, since they can be sure that their behaviour is judged exclusively according to the legal standards which apply to all; secondly, however, the same law for all also means that there is a guarantee that there will be a minimum of social justice, as the variety of interests, values and attitudes to life can and must be balanced out under the law in a way that is acceptable to every member of the legal community.

The law is thus the foundation of a modern, civilised society featuring social differentiation and cultural diversity.