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70 Years of the Basic Law

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Germany
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70 Years of the Basic Law

On 1 September 1948, the Parliamentary Council met in Bonn to debate and pass the Basic Law for the three Western zones. After more than eight months of controversial discussions, in particular concerning the division of power between the federation and the states, voting rights, and the financial regime, on 8 May 1949, the Parliamentary Council passed the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. It officially entered into force on 24 May 1949.

70 years of the Basic Law is a success story. But with social and technological change, the constitutional framework must continue to be developed. At the same time, rising right-wing populism finds more and more open expression in attacks on our liberal democracy. For the 14th time, experts and interested parties met for the Karlsruhe constitutional dialogue to discuss challenges to the constitution. Entitled “70 years of the Basic Law – will our constitution pass the stress test?”, three panels of experts were held on the topics of freedom of the press, freedom of science, and freedom of expression.

“The Basic Law has contributed to the Federal Republic of Germany becoming a successful democracy and the most liberal state in German history,” Professor Jürgen Morlok, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, concluded.