Protection in Germany of the fundamental rights of the European Union (GrCH). Case note of the BVerfG (German Federal Constitutional Court) of 06.11.2019 - 1 BvR 16/13 concerning the interpretation of the fundamental rights within the Basic law with regard to non-fully harmonized EU law.

Abstract

With the groundbreaking resolution on the so-called right to be forgotten, the First Senate of the BVerfG has positioned itself in every respect as a contemporary guarantor of effective protection of fundamental rights. The bigger surprise is likely to be the reorientation of its role in cooperation with the ECJ. In the future, the BVerfG will also see itself as the guardian of individual protection of fundamental rights in national law that has been completely reformed under EU law. However, when reviewing the application of EU law by German authorities, the BVerfG does not fall back on the standard of the fundamental rights of the Basic Law, which have been superseded by the priority of application under EU law, but on the fundamental rights of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. In national law, on the other hand, which is not entirely determined by EU law, the standard of review of national fundamental rights remains, which, however, are interpreted in the light of EU fundamental rights. How fruitful the perception of the role thus redesigned can be is then demonstrated by the decision in substance. Very carefully, the BVerfG works out the complex conflicting personality and media fundamental rights in the "right to be forgotten". The differentiated balancing parameters of the BVerfG can enrich the further development of the multi-layered "right to be forgotten" in a very sustainable way.

Keywords

• eu law
• civil law
• law
• legal science
• european fundamental rights