History of the Development of German Law

Author: He Qinhua, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-01-01
Features:
Four. In Germany, state constitutions and state laws are also important sources of law. According to the Basic Law of Bonn, the most important legislative body at the state level is the state parliament, composed of members elected by the people. Except for the parliaments of Saarland, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Rhineland-Palatinate, which have a five-year term, the parliaments of the other thirteen states have a four-year term. The internal organization of state parliaments is similar to that of the Federal Parliament, with a speaker, a parliamentary presidium, parliamentary committees, and parliamentary groups. In Bavaria, in addition to the state parliament, there is also a state senat, representing social, economic, cultural, and other groups within the state. The senat also has the right to participate in state legislation. Due to the extensive legislative powers of the federal government stipulated by the Basic Law of Bonn, the areas in which states can legislate independently are relatively limited, mainly including: the organizational structure of each state, local rights, police laws, education, rescue services, disaster relief, broadcasting and news, building regulations, and cultural heritage protection. Since state parliaments have limited legislative tasks, their main function is to supervise the activities of administrative agencies. In addition to state constitutions and laws, ordinances issued by state administrative agencies are also sources of law in Germany. Since all federal and state laws must be implemented by state governments, the primary mission of state governments is to enforce laws and, in the process of enforcing laws, formulate various policies and administrative regulations. The implementation of numerous tasks, such as education, cultural heritage protection, urban governance, environmental protection, and social relief, is carried out through the establishment of institutions and the issuance of regulations by state governments.
Five. Customary Law
Customary law is a recognized source of law in German law. "In Germany, only two sources of law are formally recognized: statutory law (Gesetz) and customary law (Gewohnheitsrecht)." In Germany, customary law includes all regular, widespread public customs that have been recognized by the state and are binding. In Germany, customary law still retains its status as a source of law in modern times, influenced by the legal traditions of German legal culture. As mentioned earlier, in the early life of the Germanic tribes, tribal customs were applied. After the establishment of the barbarian states, although some written legal codes were formulated, unwritten customary law still held dominant. "During the period of the German Empire, local customary law remained unwritten but retained an important position, equivalent to or even surpassing that of written law. Even imperial decrees were subordinate to it."