Application of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms by the German state bodies. A case study

The order of the Second Senate of the German Federal Constitutional Court (the FCCt) of 14 October 2004 is a good example for a functioning of European legal community in an interpretation by German courts. Analyzing of effects of the European Court on Human Rights’ (the ECHR) decision in the Görgülü case on application of law by the state bodies, the FCCt emphasizes an openness of the German legal order towards the European law but parallel forms some legal restrictions on it, as it also does in European Union cases. On one hand in the German legal system, the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) in the interpretation of the ECHR has the status of a federal statute, and it must be taken into account in the interpretation of domestic law, including fundamental rights and constitutional guarantees. The authorities and courts of the Federal Republic of Germany are therefore obliged, under certain conditions, to take account of the Convention as interpreted by the ECHR in making their decisions. On the other hand this commitment takes effect only within the democratic and constitutional system of the Basic Law. The standard of protection of basic rights guaranteed by the Basic Law forms an important part of this constitutional system. What is more the state bodies must take into consideration effects of the ECHR’s decision on the national legal system. It means that taking into account decisions of the ECHR is possible only within the scope of the applicable law of procedure and the state bodies must evaluate decision’s effects, in particular in family law, the law concerning aliens, and also in the law on the protection of personality. It is worth to mention that an influence of the Görgülü case may be seen also in German legislation. In 2006 the German Code of Civil Procedure was changed. According to the section 580 of the above mentioned Code an action for retrial of the case may be brought: 8. Where the European Court of Human Rights has established that the Convention or its protocols have been violated, and where the judgment is based on this violation