Der Prüfungsmaßstab im Kommunalverfassungsbeschwerdeverfahren

The thesis at hand examines the question by means of which provisions the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) and the Constitutional Courts of German states (Landesverfassungsgerichte) may examine admissible subjects within constitutional complaints filed by municipalities (Kommunalverfassungsbeschwerde). Although numerous constitutional complaints filed by municipalities have been decided, the examination criteria of the Constitutional Courts of German states and the Federal Constitutional Court are not consistent and sometimes even contradictory. Taking the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz) as an example, the thesis examines in a first step which provisions of the own Basic Law can be considered as examination criteria. Beyond the municipal right of self-government, a limited extension of the examination criteria is possible through the principle of statutory reservation (Gesetzesvorbehalt). However, the expansion may not exceed the scope set by the subject of the proceedings pursuant to Article 93 para. 1 no. 4b of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. The second part of the thesis then discusses to what extent provisions of the respective other constitutional area can become examination criteria. As a result, it can be stated that the principle of separation between the Federation and the states has to be observed and that an examination of provisions under the other constitutional area is admissible in the event that the respective state constitution contains a provision to open the own constitutional area. Finally, the examination criteria for each German state are presented on the basis of the results of the first two parts of the thesis. von Bauer, Steffen