German Constitutional Court Selected Decisions
Summary
The German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) provides English translations of selected landmark decisions organised into thematic chapters. Topics covered include Human Dignity, General Right of Personality and Data Protection, European Law, International Law, Rule of Law, and Democracy and Elections. The project is ongoing, with additional chapters to be added subsequently.
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GovPing monitors Germany BVerfG Decisions for new courts & legal regulatory changes. Every update since tracking began is archived, classified, and available as free RSS or email alerts — 3 changes logged to date.
What changed
The German Federal Constitutional Court has published an index of selected decisions available in English translation, covering major rulings from 1955 to 2012. The decisions are grouped under six thematic headings: Human Dignity; General Right of Personality and Data Protection; General Right of Personality — Privacy, Intimacy, Self-Determination; European Law; International Law; and Democracy — Parties and Elections. The Court states that the selection is not exhaustive and that the selection or order of cases should not be construed as a statement by the Court's members.
For legal researchers, practitioners, and academics outside Germany, this page provides a curated entry point to German constitutional jurisprudence. Compliance professionals tracking European constitutional law or fundamental-rights case law may find the listed cases (e.g. on data retention, surveillance, and electronic voting) relevant to cross-border regulatory analysis.
Archived snapshot
Apr 23, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Selected decisions
By providing English translations of the following selected decisions, the Federal Constitutional Court aims to facilitate access to distinct lines of constitutional case-law for researchers, practitioners and anyone interested to learn more about the Court and its jurisprudence. The selection is not exhaustive, and the selection or the order in which the cases are presented should not be construed as a statement on the part of the members of the Court. This is an ongoing project; additional chapters will be added subsequently.
Human Dignity
- 1 BvF 1/74, Judgment of the First Senate of 25 February 1975, Abortion I
- 1 BvL 14/76, Judgment of the First Senate of 21 June 1977, Life imprisonment
- 1 BvR 698/89, Order of the First Senate of 20 October 1992, The Evil Dead
- 1 BvR 2378/98, Judgment of the First Senate of 3 March 2004, Surveillance of private homes
1 BvR 357/05, Judgment of the First Senate of 15 February 2006, Aviation Security Act
General Right of Personality – Data Protection1 BvR 209/83, Judgment of the First Senate of 15 December 1983, Census
2 BvR 1072/20, Order of the Second Senate of 12 April 2005, Seizure of electronic data
1 BvR 518/02 Order of the First Senate of 4 April 2006, Electronic profiling
1 BvR 370/07, Judgment of the First Senate of 27 February 2008, Remote searches
1 BvR 256/08, Judgment of the First Senate of 2 March 2010, Data retention
General Right of Personality – Privacy, Intimacy, Self-Determination1 BvR 253/56, Judgment of the First Senate of 16 January 1957, Elfes
2 BvR 454/71, Order of the Second Senate of 31 January 1973, Secret tape recordings
1 BvR 536/72, Judgment of the First Senate of 5 June 1973, Lebach
1 BvR 1602/07, Order of the First Senate of 26 February 2008, Caroline III
1 BvR 3295/07, Order of the First Senate of 11 January 2011, Transsexuals VIII
European Law2 BvL 52/71, Order of the Second Senate of 29 May 1974, Solange I
2 BvR 197/83, Order of the Second Senate of 22 October 1986, Solange II
2 BvR 2134/92, Order of the Second Senate of 12 October 1993, Treaty of Maastricht
2 BvE 2/08, Judgment of the Second Senate of 30 June 2009, Treaty of Lisbon
2 BvR 2661/06, Order of the Second Senate of 6 July 2010, Honeywell
International Law2 BvG 1/55, Judgment of the Second Senate of 26 March 1957, Reich Concordat
2 BvF 1/73, Judgment of the Second Senate of 31 July 1973, Basic Treaty
2 BvM 1/76, Order of the Second Senate of 13 December 1977, Philippine Embassy
2 BvE 13/83, Judgment of the Second Senate of 18 December 1984, Stationing of nuclear weapons
2 BvR 1481/04, Order of the Second Senate of 14 October 2004, Görgülü
Rule of Law1 BvL 23/52, Order of the First Senate of 24 July 1957, Hamburg Dog Tax Act
1 BvR 1170/90, Judgment of the First Senate of 23 April 1991, Land Reform I
2 BvR 2628/10, Judgment of the Second Senate of 15 February 2006, Plea Agreements Act
Democracy - Parties and Elections2 BvR 1/57, Judgment of the Second Senate of 24 June 1958, Donations to political parties
2 BvC 3/62, Order of the Second Senate of 22 May 1963, Constituencies
2 BvF 1/65, Judgment of the Second Senate of 19 July 1966, State financing of political parties
2 BvC 3/07, Judgment of the Second Senate of 3 March 2009, Electronic voting machines
2 BvF 3/11, Judgment of the Second Senate of 25 July 2012, Negative voting weight
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