An Inter-disciplinary Introduction to German Law

This book, consisting of nine chapters, is a fundamental introduction to German Law designed for a broad range of readers but especially for those in East Asia. In fact, besides modernizing their own domestic legal systems, there was an extensive reception of German Law in China, Japan and Korea.Aside from an overview of the German legal system, the book includes chapters on German public law, private law, criminal law, employment law, law procedure and European law. All these fields of law are explained in a systematic manner. However, the uniqueness of this book is in the interdisciplinary approach to German law since the understanding of a foreign legal system is always interconnected to the cultural conditions. In this context, the reader will be taken on an illustrative journey throughout German history.

Chapter 1. Selected Aspects on German Culture

I. Introduction — the Interconnectedness of Culture and Law
II. Basic Facts — Area Studies of Germany
III. The German State
1. The Federal State
2. The Democratic State
3. The Social State
4. The Green State
5. The Liberal State — German Legal Culture
a. Regulations Resulting from History
b. Values and Jurisprudence in a Social and Liberal State

Chapter 2 German History at a Glance

I. Germanics, Celts and Romans
II. The Barbarian Invasion and Period of Migration
III. The German Middle Ages
1. Karl der Große and the Founding of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
2. The Social Structure of Medieval Society
a. The Countryside
b. Monks and Monasteries
c. Cities and Citizens
Excursus: The Hanse
d. The Jews
e. Cathedrals and Universities
3. The Knights of the Teutonic Order
4. The Legal System of the Medieval Era
IV. The Early Modern Period in Germany
V. The Age of Enlightenment in Germany
1. The Enlightenment in Prussia
2. Napoleon Bonaparte in Germany — the French Occupation
3. Germany and Europe after Napoleon — the Vormärz(1815–1848)
4. The Revolution of 1848–1849
VI. The Industrial Revolution, the Labour Movement and Karl Marx
VII. Bismarck and the Founding of the German Empire in 1871
VIII. Wilhelminsm, World War I and German Revolution of 1918–1919
IX. The Weimar Republic(1919–1933)
X. The National Socialist Dictatorship(1933–1945)
XI. A Divided Germany
1. 1945–1949: From Four Zones to Two Zones
2. 1949–1989: The Development of the Two States
a. The Federal Republic of Germany
b. The German Democratic Republic (DDR)
3. The Fall of the Wall and the German Reunification (1989–1990)
XII. Germany after 1990

Chapter 3 The German Legal System

I. Introduction to the German Legal System
II. Legal Sources
1. Statute Law
2. Court Decisions
III. Fields of Law — Substantive and Adjective Law
IV. State Power with the German Legal System
1. Separation of State Power
2. Independence of the Judiciary and Judicial Review
V. The German Court System
1. Hierarchy and Categories of Courts
2. Trials
3. Legal Aid
VI. Hierarchy of Norms
1. Supranational Law
2. National Law
VII. Governance and Public Administration
1. The Basic Structure of Public Administration
2. Duties and Organisation of the Public Administration
3. Principles of Administrative Law

Chapter 4 Public Law

I. Introduction to German Public Law
II. The Law of the Organization of the State
1. The Legal Framework
2. State Organs and Constitutional Organs
3. Elections and the Right to Vote
4. The Rights of Political Parties
III. The Concept of German Constitutional Law
1. History and Concept of the German Constitution
2. Interpretation of the Basic Law as a Living Constitution
IV. Major Principles of the German Constitution
1. The Nature of Basic Rights
2. Constitutional Principles and the Rule of Law
3. Changes of the Basic Law
4. Guarantee of Eternity
V. The Protection of Basic Rights
1. Basic Rights in Constitutional Jurisprudence
2. Human Dignity
3. The General Freedom Right
4. Equality Rights
5. Specific Freedom Rights
6. Justification of Rights Violation — the Balancing Test
VI. Administrative Law
1. The Administrative Procedure Act as the Major Legal Source
2. Legal Forms of Administrative Action

Chapter 5 Private Law

I. Introduction to German Private Law
1. The History of Private Law
2. Legal Sources of German Private Law Germany
3. The Principle of Private Autonomy (Privatautonomie)
II. The Structure of the German Civil Code 1
III. General Provisions of the Civil Code
1. Legal Capacity to Perform Juristic Acts
2. Declaration of Will
3. Legal Transactions
4. Form Requirements
IV. Law of Obligations
1. Contracts and Obligations
2. Sale Contract
3. Law of Torts
a. The Basic Principles of Tort Law
b. Tortious Liability of Minors
c. Liability for Damages under Section 823 para. 1 German Civil Code
d. Liability for Damages under Section 823 para. 2 German Civil Code
V. The Law of Property
VI. Other Fields of Private Law

Chapter 6 Criminal Law

I. Criminology and Criminal Law
II. The German Criminal Code and Its Structure
III. Criminal Offences
1. Types of Offences
2. The Structure of the Criminal Offence and Crimes by Omission
3. Intent and Negligence
IV. Attempt and Withdrawal
1. Attempt
2. Withdrawal
V. Grounds of Justification — Self-defence and Necessity
1. Self-defence
2. Necessity
VI. Guilt and Legal Culpability
VII. Mistakes in the Context of Criminal Law
VIII. System of Penalties
IX. Examples of Criminal Offences
1. Murder and Manslaughter
2. Theft
3. Fraud
X. Criminal Law and Basic Rights
1. Limitations by the Constitution
2. The Conflict between Criminal Law and Individual Basic Rights
XI. Law on Juvenile Offenders

Chapter 7 Employment Law

I. Introduction — the Features of German Employment Law
1. The Character of German Employment
2. The Dogmatics of German Employment Law
II. Examples of Specified German Employment Law Regulations
1. Protection against Unlawful Dismissal
a. Special Protections against Unlawful Dismissal by German Employment Law
b. The General Protection against Unlawful Dismissals
2. The Right of the Employee for Paid Leave
3. The Working Time Regulations by German Employment Law
a. The Daily Working Time of the Working Time Act
b. Working-free Sundays and Bank Holidays in Germany?
4. The Employees’ Representation Act
a. Introduction
b. The Employees’ Council
c. The Rights and Duties of the Employees Council
III. Current Employment Law Conflicts in Germany
1. Working Time and the Right to Disconnect under the Working Time Act
2. Flexible or Reduced Working Hours in Times of Demographic Change

Chapter 8 Law Procedure

I. Introduction to Law Procedure
II. Civil Law Procedure
1. Overview on Civil Law Proceeding
2. Principles on Civil Law Procedure
III. Criminal Law Procedure
1. Principles of Criminal Law Procedure
2. Investigation and Rights of Suspects
IV. Administrative Law Procedure
1. Principle of Official Investigation
2. Forms of Actions before Administrative Courts
V. Constitutional Law Procedure
1. Remedies and Features of Constitutional Law Procedure
2. The Constitutional Court
a. The Court as a Constitutional Organ
b. Structure and Organization of the Court
c. Justices
d. Power of the Court
3. Constitutional Complaint

Chapter 9 The European Union and European Human Rights

I. Introduction — Europe, EU and ECtHR
II. The Historical Development of the EU
III. Overview of the Treaties
IV. Overview of the EU-Institutions
V. The Supranational Law System of the EU
1. Supranationality
2. EU Legislation
3. The Doctrine of Direct Effect
VI. Transnational Jurisprudence and Human Rights in Europe
1. The Council of Europe and Human Rights Protection
2. The General Scope of the European Convention of Human Rights
3. The Articles of the European Convention of Human Rights
4. EU Fundamental Rights
5. Jurisprudence in the Multilevel Court System