basic Law Or the basic law is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Its 146 articles describe the basic rights of German citizens, the responsibilities of each state institution, and other laws, all aimed at placing the exercise of state power under democratic control.
In many ways, it was a reaction to the country’s experiences under the Nazi dictatorship from 1933–1945 and was intended to prevent things like dictatorship, genocide, and a world war started by Germany from happening again.
It was written by the parliamentary council shortly after the end of World War II in what would soon be the West German capital, Bonn, and came into force on May 23, 1949, effectively establishing the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Basic Law is placed above all other laws. The Constitutional Court in the western city of Karlsruhe is responsible for ensuring that this is followed.
Its most frequently quoted first article reads as follows: “Human dignity shall not be violated. It shall be the duty of all State authority to respect and protect it.”
The second article then says that the German people “accept inviolable and indivisible human rights as the basis of every community, peace and justice in the world.”
Among other things, the Basic Law stipulates that men and women have equal rights, everyone has freedom of religious belief and the politically persecuted have the right to asylum.
Any amendment to the Constitution must be passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament: the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.
They must then be signed by the Federal President.
About 70 amendments have been made since 1949, including one in 1972 to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 and another in 1990 to admit several new federal states after reunification.
However, many of its core principles, including those of its first article, cannot be changed even with a two-thirds majority.