Learning outcomes

• Explain the key principles of the legal system of the country in question
• To lern more about the National Legislative Process of each respective country
• Obtain fundamental knowledge in key aspects of national legislation relevant to employment and relocation.

.. To learn more about the judicial system in Germany, review the accompanying lesson, The Judicial Branch of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Basis Information about Germany

Germany is a federal democracy, with rights guaranteed by the Basic Law, or constitution. The federal government shares power with 16 states – Länder. Germany’s capital and largest metropolis is Berlin where the Government is located.  With about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the EU.

Because of its historical background there are a systematic organization of many areas of German law into general and specific rules, the organization of state, government, and the courts.

Since reunification the German Basic Law, is considered as the German Constitution with fundamental rights guarantees for all citizens and nationals shall apply. The focus is the dignity and equality of all people, which must be respected in all legislation.

All European Union countries have rules; points that citizens and foreigners need to obey. It is a general statement all over the EU that each country is going to have rules, normally conceived inside a certain book or document, which need to be followed, otherwise the person would be acting “illegally” and would suffer negative consequences, from fines to jail time. However, what are all these rules? And more importantly, where can they be found?

These rules are a simple, not very adequate way of referring to the laws of a country. And these laws are normally registered inside the legal system, which is the legal regimen of a country, in which laws are included but also interpreted; this means, the legal system is the place where anyone can look up the rules of a country, how those rules work and should be followed, and what would happen if a person did not comply with them.

In the first chapter of the BRIGHT@EU modules, it will be possible to obtain a general vision of the legal system of each of the countries conforming the partnership. It will also serve as base for the future chapters.

Let’s begin!