Details
| Original language | German |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 570-598 |
| Number of pages | 29 |
| Journal | Politische Vierteljahresschrift |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Abstract
Keywords
- Federal Constitutional Court, Public Opinion, Juicialization, Abstract Review, Federal State Disputes
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: Politische Vierteljahresschrift, Vol. 56, No. 4, 2015, p. 570-598.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Zum Einfluss der öffentlichen Meinung auf Entscheidungen des Bundesverfassungsgerichts. Eine Analyse von abstrakten Normenkontrollen sowie Bund-Länder-Streitigkeiten 1974 – 2010
AU - Sternberg, Sebastian
AU - Gschwend, Thomas
AU - Wittig, Caroline
AU - Engst, Benjamin Gerhard
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Is the Federal Constitutional Court, as often depicted, a mostly independent ac-tor in the German political system? The present analysis shows for the first time to what extent public opinion has a systematic influence on the decisions of the Constitutional Court. Our evidence is based on the analysis of abstract judicial reviews and federal state disputes from 1974 to 2010. We show that the Federal Constitutional Court is the more likely to rule in favor of the opposition, the stronger the public supports the specific sub-stantive position of the opposition. Two mechanisms that could bring about this correla-tion are finally discussed. While the court does not blindly follow public opinion it will nevertheless consider the acceptance of its decisions as an important source of legitimacy.
AB - Is the Federal Constitutional Court, as often depicted, a mostly independent ac-tor in the German political system? The present analysis shows for the first time to what extent public opinion has a systematic influence on the decisions of the Constitutional Court. Our evidence is based on the analysis of abstract judicial reviews and federal state disputes from 1974 to 2010. We show that the Federal Constitutional Court is the more likely to rule in favor of the opposition, the stronger the public supports the specific sub-stantive position of the opposition. Two mechanisms that could bring about this correla-tion are finally discussed. While the court does not blindly follow public opinion it will nevertheless consider the acceptance of its decisions as an important source of legitimacy.
KW - Federal Constitutional Court
KW - Public Opinion
KW - Juicialization
KW - Abstract Review
KW - Federal State Disputes
KW - Bundesverfassungsgericht
KW - Öffentliche Meinung
KW - Justizialisierung
KW - abstrakte Normenkontrollen
KW - Bund-Länder-Streitigkeiten
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5771/0032-3470-2015-4-570
U2 - 10.5771/0032-3470-2015-4-570
DO - 10.5771/0032-3470-2015-4-570
M3 - Artikel
VL - 56
SP - 570
EP - 598
JO - Politische Vierteljahresschrift
JF - Politische Vierteljahresschrift
SN - 0720-4809
IS - 4
ER -