"70 JAHRE DEUTSCHES GRUNDGESETZ - GRUNDRECHTE UND RECHTSSTAATLICHKEIT"

Author:
Cord Brügmann is a lawyer in Germany and a historian. He has published about historic, legal and access to justice issues, including publications on the rule of law. He advises the Ethiopian legal profession in current law reforms. 
 
Short description:
Germany has celebrated the 70th anniversary of its constitution the Grundgesetz, in May 2019. The German constitution, adopted after World War II, became an important basis for democratization, rule of law economic growth. The Federal Constitutional Court, established shortly after the constitution came into force, gave fundamental rights a voice and became guardian of the constitution.

The significance of the court’s rulings for Germany’s way towards a free and democratic society ruled by law cannot be overestimated. Today, Germans ask: Can our constitution and the Constitutional Court hold together a more and more fragmented society? Which guidance can a constitution give citizens when it comes to highly controversial questions in society? Brügmann will touch those issues from a historical and legal perspective.