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The Constitution of Berlin (German : Verfassung von Berlin) is the state constitution of the German state of Berlin.
The current constitution was introduced November 23, 1995, and was passed by the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin on June 8, 1995, and confirmed by the majority of Berliners in the referendum on October 22, 1995.
It replaced the constitution of September 1, 1950. Section II contained significant additions to the previous constitution: the catalogue of fundamental rights was expanded, state objectives were introduced into the constitution, and the prohibition of discrimination was enshrined for the first time. Section III expanded the rights of members of parliament and established the office of data protection officer. Section V was expanded to include options for popular legislation in a three-stage process of popular initiative, referendum, and popular vote. Finally, Section VII laid the foundation for the Constitutional Court of Berlin.[ citation needed ]
The constitution of 1950 already claimed in Article 4 that it was valid for all of Berlin, but until reunification it could de facto only be enforced in West Berlin, not in East Berlin. Since January 11, 1991, it has been valid for all of Berlin.[ citation needed ]
The Constitution of Berlin has no reference to God. Article 10 paragraph 2 includes protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation.[ citation needed ]
The Constitution of Berlin is divided into 9 sections and 101 articles:
PreambleResolving to protect the freedom and the rights of every individual, to afford democratic order to the community and the economy, and to serve the spirit of social progress and peace, Berlin, the capital of the united Germany, has adopted the following Constitution:
| I | Fundamental Provisions |
| II | Basic Rights; State Aims |
| III | Representation of the People (the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin) |
| IV | The Government (der Senate of Berlin) |
| V | Legislation |
| VI | The Administrative Apparatus |
| VII | Administration of Justice |
| VIII | Finance |
| IX | Transitional and Final Provisions |
Gerhard Anschütz was a noted German teacher of constitutional law and the leading commentator of the Weimar Constitution. His principal work is the two-volume legal encyclopedia Handbuch des deutschen Staatsrechts; his constitutional commentary saw 14 editions during the Weimar Republic.
Günter Kunert was a German writer. Based in East Berlin, he published poetry from 1947, supported by Bertold Brecht. After he had signed a petition against the deprivation of the citizenship of Wolf Biermann in 1976, he lost his SED membership, and moved to the West two years later. He is regarded as a versatile German writer who wrote short stories, essays, autobiographical works, film scripts and novels. He received international honorary doctorates and awards.
Eckhard Jesse is a German political scientist. Born in Wurzen, Saxony, he held the chair for "political systems and political institutions" at the Technical University of Chemnitz from 1993 to 2014. Jesse is one of the best known German political scholars in the field of extremism and terrorism studies. He has also specialized in the study of German political parties and the German political system.
Alexander, Count of Schönburg-Glauchau, known professionally as Alexander von Schönburg, is a German journalist and writer. He is, after his older brother Carl's abdication, the current head of the comital branch of the princely House of Schönburg.
The governing mayor of Berlin is the head of government, presiding over the Berlin Senate. As Berlin is an independent city as well as one of the constituent states of Germany, the office is the equivalent of the ministers president of the other German states, except the states of Hamburg and Bremen, where the heads of government are called "First Mayor" and "President of the Senate and Mayor", respectively. The title Governing Mayor of Berlin is the equivalent of Lord Mayor in the meaning of an actual executive leader.
Anton Maegerle is the Pseudonym of the German journalist Gernot Modery. He is also the author of books about far-right politics, right-wing radicalism, the New Right, and right-wing policy in general.
The Senate of Berlin is the executive body governing the city of Berlin, which at the same time is a state of Germany. According to the Constitution of Berlin the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to ten senators appointed by the governing mayor, two of whom are appointed (deputy) mayors. The Senate meets weekly at the Rotes Rathaus.
Referendums in Germany are an element of direct democracy. On the federal level only two types of a mandatory binding referendum exist – adopting a new constitution and regional referendums in case of restructuring the states. On the state level, all states have various types of statewide and municipal referendums.
Steffen Martus is a German literary scholar and Professor of Modern German Literature at Humboldt University in Berlin.
Schwabenhass is a neologism referring to the aversion to the approximately 300,000-strong Swabian diaspora in Berlin and elsewhere in Germany outside of Swabia. In 2013, the so-called Spätzle-streit gained nationwide attention.
Georg Heinrich Hermann Henneberg was a German physician, who served as President of the Robert Koch Institute from 1952 to 1969 and as President of the Federal Health Agency from 1969 to 1974. He was previously director of the Department of Bacteriology at the pharmaceutical company Schering AG.
Johannes Stroux was a German classicist, scholar of Roman law and organizer of scientific projects and organizations. In 1945 he became rector of the Berlin University and president of the Berlin Academy of Science.
The Woman Everyone Loves Is You is a 1929 German silent film directed by Carl Froelich and starring Henny Porten, Fritz Kampers and Paul Hörbiger. The film's sets were designed by Gustav A. Knauer and Willy Schiller.
The Minister-president is the head of state and government in thirteen of Germany's sixteen states.
The State Constitution of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is the constitution of the state of Bremen. It dates from October 21, 1947, and was last revised on August 15, 2019, with effect from August 16, 2019.
The Constitution of the State of Baden-Württemberg was passed by the state constitutional assembly on 11 November 1953 after the founding of the state of Baden-Württemberg on 25 April 1952 and came into force on 19 November 1953 with a solemn state ceremony in the main house of the Württemberg State Theatre. Unlike other German state constitutions, it was not confirmed by a referendum. It replaced the constitutions of the states of Baden, Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern. For a transitional period from 15 May 1952, the law on the provisional exercise of state power in the southwest German state, which had been passed by the state constitutional assembly, applied.
The Constitution of the State of Schleswig-Holstein of December 13, 1949 came into force on January 12, 1950, under the title State Statute for Schleswig-Holstein. A constitutional and parliamentary reform also led to a change in title on June 13, 1990. The current publication of the constitution of the state of Schleswig-Holstein dates from December 2, 2014.
The Constitution of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern finally came into force on 15 November 1994 with the convening of the second state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The constitution of the state of Brandenburg was adopted as a draft by the state parliament on April 14, 1992, and approved by the population in a referendum on June 14 with 94.04% of the valid votes. Since then, it has been amended seven times, most recently on May 16, 2019.
The Constitution of the Free State of Thuringia is the state constitution of Thuringia; it is valid in this federal state together with the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany.