Andreas Voßkuhle*

Constitutional Comparison by Constitutional

Courts: Twelve Observations from Twelve
Years of Constitutional Practice

Abstract

Constitutional comparison is part of the everyday work of constitutional courts.

What this means exactly, however, is unclear, as only a small part of constitutional
comparisons is explicitly reflected in decisions. Only the tip of the ‘comparative
iceberg’ is visible. The author reports on twelve years of judicial practice at the German
Federal Constitutional Court and summarises his analysis in twelve observations.

Keywords: comparative constitutional law, comparative reasoning, constitutional

jurisprudence, constitutional practice, Federal Constitutional Court of Germany,
judicial dialogue, judicial self-reflection

I Introduction

There have been a large number of publications and discussions on the topic of comparative
constitutional law in recent years. In my lecture, I would like to focus on a small section
of this topic, namely the practice of comparative constitutional law1 at the Federal
Constitutional Court of Germany. To this end, I will share twelve observations from twelve
years of constitutional practice with you.

*
Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Andreas Voßkuhle, professor, Albert Ludwig University Freiburg, President of the
Federal Constitutional Court (ret.).
1
In Germany, this practice is commonly referred to as ‘constitutional comparison’ (Verfassungsvergleichung)
instead of ‘comparative constitutional law’ (Verfassungsrechtsvergleichung), for a specific insight into
the German and international terminology see Karl-Peter Sommermann, ‘Funktionen und Methoden der
Grundrechtsvergleichung’ in Detlef Merten and Hans-Jürgen Papier (eds), Handbuch der Grundrechte (C.F.
Müller 2004) vol I § 16, para 5 with further references.

DOI: 10.54148/ELTELJ.2023.1.7 7
 ELTE Law Journal • Andreas Voßkuhle

II Twelve Observations I Have Made in My Twelve Years as a

Constitutional Judge

1 Comparative Constitutional Law in the Narrow Sense Is Not

Normatively Binding

In order to be able to examine the practice of constitutional comparison precisely, it seems

helpful to distinguish comparative law in the narrow sense from those constellations in
which domestic law expressly refers to a foreign legal system. Examples for the second case
are the primacy of EU law or the duty to take into account the European Convention on
Human Rights.2 The latter cases raise their own problems of legal harmonisation in multi-
level governance. Also, the simple application of foreign law, for example in the context of
private international law, is not a case of comparative legal analysis in the narrow sense.3
In these instances, judges decide autonomously whether to make use of the possibility of
comparative law or not.4 I follow the understanding that comparative constitutional law
only takes place
– if firstly a reference is made to aspects of another legal system for argumentative
purposes,
– if secondly that system is comparable in one respect,
– if thirdly it is not normatively binding for one’s own legal system, and
– finally, if the comparison is made in order to promote the application and
interpretation of one’s own law.5

2 The Federal Constitutional Court Increasingly Uses Comparative Law

Arguments

A closer look at the judgments’ reasonings reveals that comparative law certainly does not
take the place of a fifth method of interpretation in German constitutional jurisdiction,

2
Likewise Anna-Bettina Kaiser, ‘Verfassungsvergleichung durch das Bundesverfassungsgericht’ (2010) 18 (4)
Journal für Rechtspolitik 203, 204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00730-010-0317-9; Stefan Martini, Vergleichende
Verfassungsrechtsprechung (Duncker & Humblot 2018) 42. https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-55271-9; Susanne
Baer, ‘Zum Potenzial der Rechtsvergleichung für den Konstitutionalismus’ (2015) 63 (1) Jahrbuch des öffentlichen
Rechts der Gegenwart. Neue Folge 389, 390. Otherwise Susanne Baer, Renaissance der Verfassungsvergleichung?
(2022) manuscript, 3.
3
For further information on the Federal Constitutional Court’s jurisprudence regarding cases with a foreign
element see Baer, ‘Zum Potenzial der Rechtsvergleichung für den Konstitutionalismus’ (n 2) 391–392 with
further references in fn 12.
4
Explicitly stated in the same manner by Michael Bobek, Comparative reasoning in European Supreme
Courts (Oxford University Press 2013) 19: ‘situations in which the judge has a choice’. https://doi.org/10.1093/
acprof:oso/9780199680382.001.0001
5
Martini (n 2) 360.

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 Constitutional Comparison by Constitutional Courts…

as the German constitutional lawyer Peter Häberle6 once called for. From a quantitative
perspective, a comparative approach is the exception rather than the rule.7 However, one
may doubt whether one can speak of a general deficit of comparative law in the jurisprudence
of the Federal Constitutional Court.8 Contrary to some of the opinions expressed in the
academic debate,9 the use of comparative law arguments by the Federal Constitutional Court
has increased in the last 20 years. This observation is supported by the highly commendable
and well-supported study by Stefan Martini. He has meticulously examined the first 131
volumes of the Federal Constitutional Court’s official collection of decisions for comparative
legal references, using quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis.10 Over the entire
period of the study, he has identified comparative law references in approximately every
twentieth decision, which corresponds to a rate of about 5%. In an international comparison
of supreme and constitutional courts, the Federal Constitutional Court thus ranks in the
middle, ahead of the supreme courts in the USA, Japan and Russia, but behind those in
South Africa, Australia and Israel.
From its early decisions on,11 the Federal Constitutional Court considered other legal
systems.12 In the so-called Lüth-judgement, the fundamental right to freedom of expression
(Article 5 para. 1 s. 1 of the Basic Law) was compared with the Declaration of the Rights
of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 and it was stated that this was one of the most noble
human rights of all.13 Furthermore, the decision explicitly refers to the liberal US Supreme
Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo (1870–1938), sharing his conviction that the right to

6
Cf. Peter Häberle, ‘Grundrechtsgeltung und Grundrechtsinterpretation im Verfassungsstaat’ (1989) 44 (20)
JuristenZeitung 913, 916; Peter Häberle, Rechtsvergleichung im Kraftfeld des Verfassungsstaates (Duncker
& Humblot 1992) https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-47467-7; Peter Häberle and Markus Kotzur, Europäische
Verfassungslehre (8th edn, Nomos 2016) paras 699 et seq.
7
Likewise Baer, ‘Zum Potenzial der Rechtsvergleichung für den Konstitutionalismus’ (n 2) 391–392, 397. For
further comparison Claus-Dieter Classen, ‘Das Grundgesetz in der internationalen Verfassungsvergleichung’
in Wolfgang Kahl, Christian Waldhoff and Christian Walter (eds), Bonner Kommentar zum Grundgesetz (C.F.
Müller 2019) para 51.
8
Peter Häberle, ‘Das deutsche BVerfG, eine „Nachlese“ zu 60 Jahren seiner Tätigkeit’ in Peter Häberle (ed),
Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit – Verfassungsprozessrecht (Duncker & Humblot 2014) 251, 256–257.
9
Cf. for example Sommermann (n 1) para 86; Angelika Nußberger, ‘Wer zitiert wen?’ (2006) 61 (15) JuristenZeitung
763, 770. https://doi.org/10.1628/002268806778171944; Cheryl Saunders, ‘Judicial engagement with comparative
law’ in Tom Ginsburg and Rosalind Dixon (eds), Comparative Constitutional Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2011)
571, 574; Bobek (n 4) 150.
10
Martini (n 2) 72 et seq.
11
Comparative legal remarks are most commonly found in senate-decisions and less common in chamber-decisions
[formerly known as ‘three-person-committees’ (Dreier-Ausschüsse)], as these decisions are not the place to
elaborate complex questions of constitutional legal doctrine and usually considerably less far-reaching than the
senate-decisions; see also Baer, ‘Zum Potenzial der Rechtsvergleichung für den Konstitutionalismus’ (n 2) 395–396.
12
An overview of the comparative legal remarks in the Federal Constitutional Court’s early decisions is supplied
by Jörg Manfred Mössner, ‘Rechtsvergleichung und Verfassungsrechtsprechung’ (1974) 99 (2) Archiv des
öffentlichen Rechts 193, 228 et seq.
13
BVerfGE 7, 198 (208) – Lüth.

9
 ELTE Law Journal • Andreas Voßkuhle

express one’s opinion is the foundation of almost every other freedom.14 A few years later,
comparative legal considerations appear in a decision dealing with the tension between
freedom of the press (Article 5 para. 1 s. 2 of the Basic Law) and national security: In the
Spiegel-ruling, there are many references to other legal systems.15 However, the court did
not only engage in comparative law in decisions on the fundamental rights of freedom of
expression and freedom of the press. It also took on a broader view beyond the boundaries
of its own constitutional order in more specific issues. This applies, for instance, to the right
to conscientious objection (Article 4 of the Basic Law)16 or the interpretation of the concept
of ‘home’ in the context of the right to privacy (Article 13 of the Basic Law)17 and to the
former ban on marriage in cases where one partner has been in a premarital relationship
with a relative of their new partner (Article 6 of the Basic Law)18. Over the years, court
decisions from diverse legal systems19 have found their way into the official collection of
the rulings of the Federal Constitutional Court.20
The current jurisprudence of the Federal Constitutional Court is influenced by other
constitutional courts as well: In its Fraport-decision from 2011, for example, the Court
referred to criteria developed by the highest courts of the United States and Canada on
the doctrine of the ‘public forum’. This doctrine was used in order to clarify the conditions
under which the freedom of assembly (Article 8 of the Basic Law) includes places that
lie outside public streets, roads and squares.21 Furthermore, the Federal Constitutional
Court’s practice of directly applying the European Charter of Fundamental Rights in fully
harmonised areas of law was introduced with reference to the legal situation in Austria,
Belgium, France and Italy.22 Another example for detailed comparative law considerations
is the decision on assisted suicide from 2020.23 Moreover, when the Court ruled on the
subject of the European Central Bank’s OMT-programme, it intensively consulted the case
law of other European constitutional and supreme courts on the fundamental question of
the primacy of European Union law.24 The same applies to the application of the principle
of proportionality in the so-called PSPP-ruling.25

14
BVerfGE 7, 198 (208) – Lüth; see also Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo in Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U.S. 319, 327
(1937).
15
BVerfGE 20, 162 (208, 220-221) – Spiegel.
16
BVerfGE 28, 243 (258-259) – Kriegsdienstverweigerung.
17
BVerfGE 32, 54 (70) – Betriebsbetretungsrecht.
18
BVerfGE 36, 146 (165) – Eheverbot.
19
On the systematics of legal systems cf. Uwe Kischel, Rechtsvergleichung (C.H. Beck 2015) § 4.
20
Cf. not only the work by Martini (n 2) for the Federal Constitutional Court’s jurispridence between the years
1951 and 2007, but also the empirical analysis by Aura María Cárdenas Paulsen, Über die Rechtsvergleichung
in der Rechtsprechung des Bundesverfassungsgerichts (Verlag Dr. Kovač 2009).
21
BVerfGE 128, 226 (253) – Fraport.
22
BVerfGE 152, 216 (236, para 50) – Recht auf Vergessen II.
23
BVerfGE 153, 182 (200-206, paras 26–32) – Suizidhilfe.
24
BVerfGE 142, 123 (197-198, para 142) – OMT.
25
BVerfGE 154, 17 (99 et seq., paras 123–125) – PSPP.

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 Constitutional Comparison by Constitutional Courts…

3 The Increase in Comparative Law in Constitutional Jurisprudence Is

Embedded in the General Academic Trend towards More Comparative
Constitutional Analysis

The increase in comparative law in constitutional jurisprudence is due to various factors.

However, it is probably no coincidence that it goes hand in hand with an increased academic
interest in comparative constitutional law over the last two decades. This is my third
observation. Comparative law seems to meet the needs of the time.26 Some also speak of
a ‘renaissance of constitutional comparison’.27 Looking back, modern comparative law28
has indeed gone through different periods: phases of flourishing alternated with phases
of disillusionment. This applies not only to comparative private law, which was for a long
time the main domain of comparative law,29 but also to comparative constitutional law.
Particularly in the early years of the Federal Republic of Germany, the main focus was on
the German constitution.30 Only the Basic Law’s legislative materials feature a few references
to comparative law.31 Possible reasons for this introverted attitude are

26
Christoph Schönberger, ‘Verfassungsvergleichung heute: Der schwierige Abschied vom ptolemäischen Weltbild’
(2010) 43 (1) Verfassung und Recht in Übersee 6. https://doi.org/10.5771/0506-7286-2010-1-6; András Jakab,
European Constitutional Language (Cambridge University Press 2016) 55, who speaks of a ‘global phenomenon
or trend’.
27
Ran Hirschl, Comparative Matters, The Renaissance of Comparative Constitutional Law (Oxford University
Press 2014). https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198714514.003.0008; Hirschl’s primary concern is a
methodical realignment of comparative constitutional law. Critical towards this Armin v. Bogdandy, ‘Zur
sozialwissenschaftlichen Runderneuerung der Verfassungsvergleichung’ (2016) 55 Der Staat 103 et seq.
https://doi.org/10.3790/staa.55.1.103; For further elaboration on this issue see Baer, Renaissance der
Verfassungsvergleichung? (n 2) 1 et seq.
28
The 1900 Congress of Comparative Law (Congrès international de droit comparé) in Paris is seen as an
important initiator of modern comparative law, cf. Ralf Michaels, ‘Im Westen nichts Neues? 100 Jahre
Pariser Kongreß für Rechtsvergleichung – Gedanken anläßlich einer Jubiläumskonferenz in New Orleans’
(2002) 66 (1) Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht 97, 98 et seq. https://doi.
org/10.1628/0033725024104252; On the history of comparative law Konrad Zweigert and Hein Kötz, Einführung
in die Rechtsvergleichung (3rd edn, Mohr Siebeck 1996) 47 et seq.; see also Walther Hug, ‘The History of
Comparative Law’ (1931/32) Harvard Law Review 45, 1027, 1029 et seq.
29
Cf. Zweigert and Kötz (n 28) 3; regarding the history of comparative administrative law see for instance Eberhard
Schmidt-Aßmann, ‘Zum Standort der Rechtsvergleichung im Verwaltungsrecht’ (2018) 78 (4) Zeitschrift für
ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht 807, 813 et seq.; Nikolaus Marsch, ‘Rechtsvergleichung’ in
Andreas Voßkuhle, Martin Eifert, Christoph Möllers (eds), Grundlagen des Verwaltungsrechts (3rd edn, C.H.
Beck 2022) vol. I, § 3 paras 4 et seq.
30
Schönberger (n 26) 7 et seq., speaks of the ‘constitutional lawyers‘ Ptolemaic conception of the world’; cf. in the
context of administrative law Schmidt-Aßmann (n 29).
31
For instance, occasional comparative approaches taken up by the Parlamentarischer Rat can be found regarding
the principle of democracy [Jahrbuch des öffentlichen Rechts der Gegenwart 1 (1951) 197] and the transfer of
sovereign rights [Jahrbuch des öffentlichen Rechts der Gegenwart 1 (1951) 223 including fn. 3]; further examples:
Jahrbuch des öffentlichen Rechts der Gegenwart 1 (1951) 65 (Art. 2 Basic Law), 409 including fn. 7 (Art. 56 Basic
Law), 897–898 including fn. 2 (Art. 139 Basic Law). For information on the alignment of the Parlamentarischer
Rat with the Allies’ desires see Carlo Schmid, Erinnerungen (S. Hirzel Verlag 1979) 368 et seq. Furthermore

11 
 ELTE Law Journal • Andreas Voßkuhle

language barriers, a lack of personnel capacity to examine and evaluate foreign material,
a concentration on overcoming the law established during the National Socialist era and
implementing the new law created after the war, as well as a rather underdeveloped comparative
legal method within German public law, and, somewhat later, possibly also satisfaction with the
‘successful model’ of the Basic Law.32

Comparative methods in public law received a new impetus in the late 1980s. Initiated
primarily by the work of Peter Häberle, 33 the study of the public law of other states increased
significantly in Germany.34 This applies to comparative constitutional law in particular.35
Of the many publications, only the monographs by Bernd Wieser, 36 Aura Maria Cárdenas
Paulsen, 37 Albrecht Weber, 38 Nick Oberheiden, 39 Triantafyllos Zolotas40 and Uwe Kischel,41
as well as the handbook Ius Publicum Europaeum edited by Armin von Bogdandy and
Peter M. Huber,42 which has meanwhile grown to nine volumes, shall be mentioned here,

Heinrich Wilms, Ausländische Einwirkungen auf die Entstehung des Grundgesetzes (Kohlhammer 1999). In
general see also Walter Haller, ‘Verfassungsvergleichung als Impuls für die Verfassungsgebung’ in Peter Hänni
(ed), Festgabe für Thomas Fleiner zum 65. Geburtstag (Editions Universitaires Fribourg Suisse 2003) 311 et seq.;
also Claudia Fuchs, ‘Verfassungsvergleichung und Gesetzgebung’ (2013) 21 Journal für Rechtspolitik 2 et seq.
32
Andreas Voßkuhle, ‘Rechtspluralismus als Herausforderung’ (2019) 79 Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches
Recht und Völkerrecht 481, 489. Regarding further reasons cf. Schönberger (n 26) 12 et seq.
33
Häberle (n 6) 913 et seq.; Peter Häberle, ‘Die Entwicklungsländer im Prozeß der Textstufendifferenzierung des
Verfassungsstaates’ (1990) 23 (3) Verfassung und Recht in Übersee 225 et seq. https://doi.org/10.5771/0506-
7286-1990-3-225; Peter Häberle, ‘Gemeineuropäisches Verfassungsrecht’ (1991) 18 Europäische Grundrechte-
Zeitschrift 261; Peter Häberle, ‘Die Entwicklungsstufe des heutigen Verfassungsstaates’ (1991) 22 Rechtstheorie
431 et seq. See also n 6.
34
Instead of many, cf. Christian Starck, ‘Rechtsvergleichung im Öffentlichen Recht’ (1997) 52 (21) JuristenZeitung
1021 et seq.; Rainer Grote, ‘Rechtskreise im öffentlichen Recht’ (2001) 126 (1) Archiv des öffentlichen Rechts
10 et seq.; Carl-David von Busse, Die Methoden der Rechtsvergleichung im öffentlichen Recht als richterliches
Instrument der Interpretation von nationalem Recht (Nomos 2015).
35
Cf. for example Rainer Wahl, ‘Verfassungsvergleichung als Kulturvergleichung’ in Rainer Wahl (ed),
Verfassungsstaat, Europäisierung, Internationalisierung (Suhrkamp 2003) 96 et seq.; Susanne Baer,
‘Verfassungsvergleichung und reflexive Methode: Interkulturelle und intersubjektive Kompetenz’ (2004) 64
Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht 735 et seq.; Hans-Peter Schneider, ‘Verfassung
und Verfassungsrecht im Zeichen der Globalisierung – zwischen nationaler Entgrenzung und transnationaler
Entfaltung’ (2017) 65 (1) Jahrbuch des öffentlichen Rechts der Gegenwart neue Folge 295, 309–310.
36
Bernd Wieser, Vergleichendes Verfassungsrecht (2nd edn, Verlag Österreich 2020).
37
Paulsen (n 20).
38
Albrecht Weber, Europäische Verfassungsvergleichung (C.H. Beck 2010).
39
Nick Oberheiden, Typologie und Grenzen des richterlichen Verfassungsvergleichs (Nomos 2011). https://doi.
org/10.5771/9783845231273
40
Triantafyllos Zolotas, Gerichtliche Heranziehung der Grundrechtsvergleichung (Carl Heymanns 2012).
41
Kischel (n 19); Uwe Kischel, ‘Fragmentierungen im Öffentlichen Recht: Diskursvergleich im internationalen und
nationalen Recht’ (2018) 77 Veröffentlichungen der Vereinigung der Deutschen Staatsrechtslehrer 285 et seq.
42
Armin von Bogdandy and Peter M. Huber (eds), Handbuch Ius Publicum Europaeum, vol I until vol IX, (C.F.
Müller 2007–2021).

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 Constitutional Comparison by Constitutional Courts…

in addition to the study by Stefan Martini43 already cited above. Interest in the subject has
also increased outside Germany since the end of the 1990s. The number of relevant essays,44
monographs and comprehensive compendia45 on the subject of comparative constitutional
law and the use of ‘Foreign Precedents by Constitutional Judges’46 is overwhelming.
One of the reasons for this development is certainly the emergence of new comparative
material.

After the downfall of the socialist constitutional systems at the end of the Cold War, the states
of Eastern Europe oriented themselves towards Western models in their transformation into
democratic constitutional states. This fact must be urgently recalled in view of the current
and very worrying events in Poland and Hungary. In other parts of the world, such as South
Africa and some South American states, new constitutions have been created as well. In general,

43
Martini (n 2).
44
Selected overview: Ran Hirschl, ‘The Question of Case Selection in Comparative Constitutional Law’ (2015)
53 American Journal of Comparative Law 125 et seq. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcl/53.1.125; Vicki C. Jackson,
‘Constitutional Comparisons: Convergence, Resistance, Engagement’ (2005) 119 (1) Harvard Law Review 109 et
seq.; Eric A. Posner and Cass R. Sunstein, ‘The Law of Other States’ (2006) 59 (1) Stanford Law Review 131 et
seq.; Mark C. Rahdert, ‘Comparative Constitutional Advocacy’ (2007) 56 (3) American University Law Review
553 et seq.; Nathan J. Brown, ‘Reason, Interest, Rationality, and Passion in Constitution Drafting’ (2008) 6 (4)
Perspectives on Politics 675 et seq. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592708081851; Eyal Benvenisti, ‘Reclaiming
Democracy: The Strategic Uses of Foreign and International Law by National Courts’ (2008) 102 (2) American
Journal of International Law 241 et seq. https://doi.org/10.2307/30034538; David Fontana, ‘The Rise and Fall
of Comparative Constitutional Law in the Postwar Era’ (2011) 36 Yale Journal of International Law 1 et seq.;
David S. Law and Mila Versteeg, ‘Sham Constitutions’ (2013) 101 (4) California Law Review 863 et seq.; Mark
Tushnet, ‘Authoritarian Constitutionalism’ (2015) 100 (2) Cornell Law Review 391 et seq.
45
Cf. for example Francois Venter, The Language of Constitutional Comparison (Edward Elgar Publishing
2000); Norman Dorsen, Michel Rosenfeld, András Sajó and Susanne Baer, Comparative Constitutionalism.
Cases and Materials (3rd edn, West Academic Publishing 2016); Michel Rosenfeld and András Sajó (eds), The
Oxford Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press 2012) https://doi.org/10.1093/
law/9780199578610.001.0001; Mark Tushnet (ed), Comparative Constitutional Law, vols I-III (Edward
Elgar Publishing 2017) https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785362705; Aydin Atilgan, Global Constitutionalism
(Springer 2018) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-55647-4; Roger Masterman and Robert Schütze (eds), The
Cambridge Companion to Comparative Constitutional Law (Cambridge University Press 2019) https://doi.
org/10.1017/9781316716731; Philipp Dann, Michael Riegner and Maxim Bönnemann (eds), The Global South and
Comparative Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press 2020, Oxford); Xenophon Contiades and Alkmene
Fotiadou (eds), Routledge Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Change (Routledge 2021).
46
Tania Groppi and Marie-Claire Ponthoreau (eds), The Use of Foreign Precedent by Constitutional Judges (Hart
Publishing 2013). For specific information on comparative constitutional law practiced by courts see for example
Ulrich Drobning and Sjef van Erp (eds), The Use of Comparative Law by Courts (Kluwer Law International
1999); Guy Canivet et al. (eds), Comparative Law before the Courts (British Institute of International and
Comparative Law 2004); Andrew Harding and Peter Leyland (eds), Constitutional Courts. A Comparative Study
(Wildy, Simmonds & Hill 2009); Mads Andenas and Duncan Fairgrieve (eds), Courts and Comparative Law
(Oxford University Press 2015) https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198735335.001.0001; Giuseppe Franco
Ferrari (ed), Judicial Cosmopolitanism: The Use of Foreign Law in Contemporary Constitutional Systems (Brill
2020). https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004297593

13 
 ELTE Law Journal • Andreas Voßkuhle

the growing international integration and the increasing harmonisation of law have certainly
promoted interest in comparative methods in public law. Today, the problems associated with
the emergence of new technologies or social change no longer originate at a national, but at a
global level.47

To name a few keywords: globalisation and digitalisation, or more concretely: migration

and climate change.
Apart from this, the appeal of comparative constitutional law lies in its subject matter.
Constitutional law differs from non-constitutional law by the larger number of indeterminate
legal concepts. The combination of these legal concepts with general legal principles,
constitutional purposes and the state’s structural principles increases the interpretative
leeway even more. This leeway invites comparison,48 but does not automatically make
comparative legal analysis easier.49 As constitutions and constitutional law are closely tied
to a specific state as their object of reference and to a specific legal culture,50 constitutional
comparisons are also subject to some preconditions that inhibit comparative legal analysis.

4 Judicial Constitutional Comparison Is Difficult to Observe in Practice

Even if the international trend towards more constitutional comparison is indisputable, the
analysis of constitutional comparative practice continues to prove difficult. In most cases,
the considerations behind the judgement are only partially reflected in the court’s decision.51
Genesis and presentation of a decision are – according to my fourth observation – each
subject to their own requirements.52 Therefore, only the tip of the ‘comparative iceberg’ is

47
Voßkuhle (n 32) 491–492.
48
Cf. only Manfred Mössner, ‘Rechtsvergleichung und Verfassungsrechtsprechung‘ (1974) 99 (2) Archiv des
öffentlichen Rechts 193, 214; Armin von Bogdandy, Gubernative Rechtssetzung (Mohr Siebeck 2000) 11; Bobek
(n 4) 256; Martini (n 2) 45.
49
On the occasionally shared conviction that comparative legal analysis is especially hard within the area of
public law, cf. only Claudia Fuchs, ‘Verfassungsvergleichung und Gesetzgebung’ (2013) 21 (1) Journal für
Rechtspolitik 2.
50
Brun-Otto Bryde, ‘Warum Verfassungsvergleichung?’ (2016) 64 Jahrbuch des öffentlichen Rechts der
Gegenwart. Neue Folge 431, 438. https://doi.org/10.1628/joer-2016-0016
51
This view is shared by the former constitutional judges Brun-Otto Bryde, ‘The constitutional Judge and the
International Constitutionalist Dialogue’ in Basil Markesini and Jörg Fedke (eds), Judicial Recourse to Foreign
Law. A New Source of Inspiration? (Routledge 2006) 295 (297); Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, ‘Constitutional
Court Judges Roundtable’ (2005) 3 (4) International Journal of Constitutional Law 556 (559) https://doi.
org/10.1093/icon/moi036; Peter M. Huber and Andreas L. Paulus, ‘Cooperation of Courts in Europe’ in
Andenas and Fairgrieve (n 46) 281 (293). Kaiser (n 2) 204, who descriptively refers to this practice as ‘implicit
constitutional comparison’.
52
In the present context cf. Martini (n 2) 48–50 with further references. The inner life of the highest courts continues
to be a blackbox to outsiders. However, an insight into the Federal Constitutional Court’s consultational culture is
provided by Gertrude Lübbe-Wolff, ‘Die Beratungskultur des Bundesverfassungsgerichts’ (2014) 41 Europäische
Grundrechte-Zeitschrift 509 et seq.; Gertrude Lübbe-Wolff, Wie funktioniert das Bundesverfassungsgericht?

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 Constitutional Comparison by Constitutional Courts…

visible.53 The repeatedly suggested publication of the court’s internal votes and comparative
working principles54 is no solution but would instead prove to be dysfunctional. Courts need
an arcanum to try out solutions and pursue half-baked thoughts without being observed.

5 Judicial Constitutional Comparison Is Legitimate – Provided that Its

Limits Are Respected

Despite the existing practice of the constitutional courts, there is no lack of fundamental
criticism of constitutional comparison. As an example for this fifth observation, I would
like to point to the conflict between the judges of the US Supreme Court. Especially
among those who advocate in favour of originalism,55 a comparative approach is met with
vehement rejection. They argue that one’s own constitutional order cannot be interpreted
by comparison with the norms and concepts developed within another jurisdiction and
its jurisprudence.56 To quote the late US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in whose
opinion comparative law may be inspiring but is irrelevant from a constitutional perspective
as it violates the democracy principle: ‘It is quite impossible for the courts, creatures and
agents of the people of the United States, to impose upon those people of the United
States norms that those people themselves (through their democratic institutions) have
not accepted’.57 Even within German constitutional law, there are many reservations with

(Universitätsverlag Osnabrück, V & R unipress 2015) and Uwe Kranenpohl, Hinter dem Schleier des
Beratungsgeheimnisses (VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2010). Cf. also Jeffrey Toobin, The Nine: Inside
the Secret World of the Supreme Court (Doubleday 2007); Dominique Schapper, Une sociologue au Conseil
Constitutionnel (Gallimard 2010); László Sólyom and Georg Brunner, A Constitutional Judiciary in a New
Democracy. The Hungarian Constitutional Court (University of Michigan Press 2010); Sabino Cassese, Dentro
la corte: Diario di un giudice costituzionale (il Mulino 2015).
53
Mattias Wendel, ‘Richterliche Rechtsvergleichung als Dialogform’ (2013) 52 Der Staat 339, 342 who refers
to the metaphorical image from Jaakko Husa, ‘Methodology of Comparative Law Today: From Paradoxes to
Flexibility’ (2006) 58 Revue Internationale de Droit Comparé 1095. https://doi.org/10.3406/ridc.2006.19483
54
Cf. for example Peter Häberle, ‘Gemeineuropäisches Verfassungsrecht’ (n 33) 261, 271; Armin von Bogdandy,
‘European Law Beyond “Ever Closer Union” Repositioning the Concept, its Thrust and the EJCs Comparative
Methodology’ (2016) 22 European Law Journal 519, 537–538. https://doi.org/10.1111/eulj.12198; with a reference
to the existing practice of the Italian Corte Costituzionale.
55
Cf. Werner Heun, ‘Original Intent und Wille des historischen Verfassungsgebers als Interpretationsmaximen’
in Werner Heun (ed), Verfassung und Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit im Vergleich (Mohr Siebeck 2014) 213 et seq.
56
For some time, those who emphasise the benefit of constitutional comparison have been gaining traction, cf.
the references at Sebastian Müller-Franken, ‘Verfassungsvergleichung’ in Otto Depenheuer and Christoph
Grabenwarter (eds), Verfassungstheorie (Mohr Siebeck 2010) § 26 para 31 and fn. 110 (906–907).
57
Antonin Scalia, ‘Commentary’ (1996) 40 St. Louis U. L. J. 1119. Cf. also Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 U. S. 815,
868 with fn. 4 (1988) (Scalia, J., dissenting opinion). Cf. also Norman Dorsen, ‘The relevance of foreign legal
materials in U.S. constitutional cases: A conversation between Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Stephen Beyer’
(2005) 3 International Journal of Constitutional Law 519 et seq. https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/moi032; Despite
this debate, the US Supreme Court itself has repeatedly engaged in comparative law, cf. for example Christoph
Bezemek, ‘Dangerous Dicta? Verfassungsvergleichung in der Rechtsprechung des US Supreme Court‘ (2010)
18 Journal für Rechtspolitik 207 et seq. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00730-010-0318-8

15 
 ELTE Law Journal • Andreas Voßkuhle

regard to comparative law. It is claimed that arguments derived from foreign constitutional
law, constitutional jurisprudence or literature can only be viable if they remain within the
binding boundaries set out by the content of the German Basic Law itself. Otherwise, it
is argued, such an approach would infringe upon ‘the proprium of jurisprudence’: ‘The
practitioners would operate outside the law’.58 Ultimately, this proves to be a question of
democratic legitimacy. To put it in the words of Christian Walter59: ‘If judicial review as such
always needs to be justified by the democracy principle, how much more must this apply if
it is to be carried out on the basis of foreign norms?’
In contrast to this debate, there are other states whose constitutions explicitly encourage
their constitutional courts to use comparative legal arguments. The Constitution of South
Africa, for example, explicitly allows the courts to take foreign law into account.60
Nevertheless, such an explicit reference to foreign law is not a necessary requirement for
legitimising judicial constitutional comparisons. If – as continuously practiced by the Federal
Constitutional Court of Germany – the interpretation of a law is based on the objectified
will of the legislature rather than its original intent, comparative legal arguments can be
integrated into the teleological legal interpretation quite easily.61 In this manner, comparative
legal argumentation causes an ‘implicit normativity of the other law in one’s own’.62

58
Müller-Franken (n 56) para 29. Generally critical towards this already Hans Nawiasky, Die Gleichheit vor
dem Gesetz im Sinne des Art. 109 der Reichsverfassung (Veröffentlichungen der Vereinigung der Deutschen
Staatsrechtslehrer 3, 1927) 25 (26), https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110888225: ‘Just as it is impossible to gain
interpretative aspects from two states of law separated by history, it is impossible to gain interpretative aspects
from two states of law separated by jurisdiction.’ (Translation by the author). A practical objection against
constitutional comparison (at least when practiced by courts) emphasises that comprehensive comparative
practice would require great manpower and that courts are already faced with a great strain from decision-
making, cf. Christian Hillgruber, Die Bedeutung der Rechtsvergleichung für das deutsche Verfassungsrecht
und die verfassungsgerichtliche Rechtsprechung in Deutschland (2015) (3) Jahrbuch des öffentlichen Rechts
der Gegenwart. Neue Folge 367 (385). https://doi.org/10.1628/joer-2015-0014; On this aspect, cf. also Kaiser
(n 2) 206, who pleads for restraint when it comes to using comparative constitutional legal arguments. Cf. also
Anna-Bettina Kaiser, ‘”It Isn´t True that England Is the Moon”: Comparative Constitutional Law as a Means
of Constitutional Interpretation by the Courts?’ (2017) 18 German Law Journal 293, 304 et seq. https://doi.
org/10.1017/S2071832200021969
59
Christian Walter, ‘Dezentrale Konstitutionalisierung durch nationale und internationale Gerichte’ in Janbernd
Oebbecke (ed), Nicht-normative Steuerung in dezentralen Systemen (Franz Steiner Verlag 2005) 205, 225.
(Translation by the author).
60
Art. 39 Section 1: ‘When interpreting the Bill of Rights, a court, tribunal or forum (a.) must promote the values
that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom; (b.) must consider
international law; and (c.) may consider foreign law.’
61
Likewise in his conclusion Müller-Franken (n 56) para 31. Cf. for example also Starck (n 34) 1021, 1024. Classen
(n 7) para 29, favours the historical interpretation as the place for comparative constitutional law.
62
Thomas Coendet, Rechtsvergleichende Argumentation. Phänomenologie der Veränderung im rechtlichen
Diskurs (Mohr Siebeck 2012) 75 (translation by the author). https://doi.org/10.1628/978-3-16-152311-3

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 Constitutional Comparison by Constitutional Courts…

6 A Court’s Motives to Conduct Constitutional Comparison Can Be

Various

As I stated before, comparative law in constitutional jurisdiction is – in general – legitimate.

This must not obscure the fact that constitutional courts can have various motives for
conducting constitutional comparison and disclosing this fact in a decision.63 This brings me
to my sixth observation. I can think of four possible reasons for constitutional comparison:
– The court can expect new insights with regard to the concretisation of constitutional
principles and norms. This function is referred to as ‘interpretative assistance’64 in the
academic debate. I would call it the epistemological function.65
– Constitutional comparison can also have a confirming function when it serves to
confirm an interpretation derived from national law.
– Furthermore, it can serve to signal the existence of a consensus across legal systems –
I call this the standardisation function.66
Finally, the comparative legal references can also serve to make one’s own argumentation
more convincing by referring to foreign legal systems and judicatures of other courts
to confirm, contrast or illustrate one’s own view. In this case the references are used as
‘persuasive authority’. This is the justification function of constitutional comparison.67
Sometimes, however, arguments based on comparative law are also misused to
legitimise problematic legal opinions.68 A recent example is the reference to the PSPP ruling
of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany by the Polish Constitutional Court to
justify the fundamental relativisation of the primacy of EU law.69

63
Similarly to the following remarks but with a different terminology and extensive examples from the Federal
Constitutional Courts’ jurisprudence Martini (n 2) 127 et seq. Generally on the reasons for constitutional
comparison Hirschl (n 27). Hirschl identifies eight main types of constitutional comparisons: (1) freestanding,
single-country studies, (2) genealogies and taxonomic labelling of legal systems, (3) surveys aimed at finding
the ‘best’ or most suitable rule across cultures, (4) surveys aimed at self-reflection, (5) concept formation
through descriptions of the same constitutional phenomena across countries, (6) normative or philosophical
contemplation of abstract concepts, (7) ‘small-N’ analysis aimed at illustrating causal arguments that may be
applicable beyond the studied cases, (8) ‘large-N’ studies that draw upon multivariate statistical analyses of
a large number of observations in order to determine correlations among pertinent variables. Cf. also Baer,
Renaissance der Verfassungsvergleichung? (n 2) 23–24.
64
Sommermann (n 1) para 39.
65
Regarding this function see Sommermann (n 1) paras 26 et seq.
66
Wendel (n 53) 357 et seq., who outlines the standardisation function under reference to the works of Peter
Häberle under the heading ‘European genealogic evolutionary context’ (Translation by the authour; original:
„europaweiter genealogischer Entwicklungszusammenhang“).
67
Wendel, ‘Richterliche Rechtsvergleichung als Dialogform’ (n 53) 359. For corresponding examples from the
Federal Constitutional Court’s jurisprudence, see Classen (n 7) para 53.
68
Insightful and with a lot of examples Rosalind Dixon and David Landau, Abusive Constitutional Borrowing
(Oxford University Press 2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192893765.001.0001
69
Cf. also Andreas Voßkuhle, ‘Applaus von der falschen Seite. Zur Folgenverantwortung von Verfassungsgerichten’
in Andreas Voßkuhle (ed), Europa, Demokratie, Verfassungsgerichte (Suhrkamp 2021) 334 et seq.

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7 So Far, the Focus of the Federal Constitutional Court’s Constitutional

Comparisons Has Been on Europe and the USA. This Is
Understandable but It Does Not Have to Stay That Way

The focus of the Federal Constitutional Court’s comparative constitutional analysis has
traditionally been on the other EU member states and the US.70 I can think of several
reasons for this seventh observation: On the one hand, there is a particular need for intra-
European comparative law. The European legal area is characterised by a unique combination
of European primary law, the European Convention on Human Rights and the national
constitutions. As Armin von Bogdandy has observed, the legal area unites different regimes of
constitutional normativity by law, without merging them into one legal order, as the different
regimes retain their autonomous self-conception.71 On the other hand, the jurisprudence
of the US Supreme Court concretises the oldest liberal constitutional order in the Western
world. When the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany began its work in 1951, Marbury
v. Madison (1803) was almost 150 years old, and no other court came close to the radiance
of the SCOTUS.
In the meantime, the situation has changed somewhat. European fundamental rights
jurisprudence is faced with the challenge of putting its own Eurocentric world-view
into perspective and must overcome colonial patterns of thought. At the same time, the
nationally introverted and over-politicised US Supreme Court hardly serves as a good
example anymore.72

8 There Is No Methodologically Sound Concept for Constitutional

Comparisons

This brings me to my eighth observation. Those who conclude from existing practice
that constitutional comparison follows a methodologically sound concept will soon find
themselves disappointed.73
The Federal Constitutional Court conducts constitutional comparisons without
methodological reflection as well.74 Whether a comparison is made, what is compared and
how it is compared remains arbitrary to a certain extent.75 There is agreement insofar as

70
Cf. Martini (n 2) 114 et seq. with further references. Cf. also Baer, ‘Zum Potenzial der Rechtsvergleichung für
den Konstitutionalismus’ (n 2) 392; and the overview by Paulsen (n 20) 44 et seq.
71
Bogdandy (n 27) 114. Cf. also instead of many Sommermann (n 1) para 22 with further references.
72
Both developments are impressively illustrated by Baer, Renaissance der Verfassungsvergleichung? (n 2).
73
This is the basso continuo of comparative legal literature since the 19th century, as correctly pointed out by
Sommermann (n 1) para 50 and fn. 162. Cf. also the contributions in Anna Gamper and Bea Verschraegen (eds),
Rechtsvergleichung als juristische Auslegungsmethode (Jan Sramek Verlag 2013).
74
Martini (n 2) 101 et seq. with further references.
75
Explicitly Kaiser (n 58) 304 et seq. Cf. also von Busse (n 34) 538 et seq. and Classen (n 7) paras 32 et seq., all with
further references. For the different motives underlying constitutional comparison cf. Section II. 6. of this text.

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 Constitutional Comparison by Constitutional Courts…

the comparison must go beyond merely compiling differences and similarities or comparing
concepts or norms.76 Instead, sophisticated legal comparison regularly goes through several
stages: The comparison begins with sifting and describing the material, which is followed
by an explanatory stage. The actual core of the comparison consists of contrasting and
evaluating the material.77
As constitutional jurisprudence is concerned with the concrete application of the law, a
comparative method that is directed towards the solution of a specific problem is of interest
in this context.78 Functional comparative law, which compares the solutions that different
legal systems provide for a specific problem, meets these needs.79 Hence, it dominates the
practice of the Federal Constitutional Court.
However, as I have already emphasised elsewhere,80 comparative constitutional law
should not be blind to the specific cultural context in which a specific legal solution is
embedded:81 ‘Comparative constitutional law always requires a certain degree of cultural
comparison or at least sufficient sensitivity for the cultural character of normative
statements. Constitutions reflect – albeit to different degrees – the realities of ‘their’ state.
People’s needs and mentalities are not the same everywhere. Comparative law therefore does
well to recognise the cultural dimension of this reality and to take it seriously.’ A certain
form of ‘osmosis’ (Peter Häberle) between the world’s constitutions can be observed in
many places.82 The interest in solutions from other cultural circles and the cooperation in a
universal constitutionalism is inherent in every comparative law argument. However, this

76
Konrad Zweigert and Hein Kötz (n 28) 42–43.
77
Cf. in general already Léontin-Jean Constantinesco, Rechtsvergleichung, vol II (Heymann 1972) 137 et seq.,
who divides the methodological process in three phases (Knowledge – Comprehension – Comparison). Cf. also
the clear outline by Sommermann (n 1) paras 53 et seq. and Franz Reimer, Juristische Methodenlehre (2nd edn,
Nomos 2020) paras 395–396.
78
Accordingly, the specific work of constitutional courts is the place where the practicability of comparative law
can be put to the test, likewise Andenas and Fairgrieve, ‘Introduction – Courts and Comparative Law: In Search
of Common Language for Open Legal Systems’ in Andenas and Fairgrieve (eds), Courts and Comparative Law
(n 46) 4: ‘courts have become the laboratories of comparative law’.
79
For further details see Kischel (n 19) § 1 paras 14 et seq., § 3 paras 6 et seq. with further references; cf. also
already Fritz Münch, ‘Einführung in die Verfassungsvergleichung’ (1973) 33 Zeitschrift für ausländisches
öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht 126 (139 et seq.). Regarding the criticism cf. the overview given by Susanne
Augenhofer, ‘Rechtsvergleichung’ in Julian Krüper (ed), Grundlagen des Rechts, (4th edn, Nomos 2021) § 10
para 47 and Baer, Renaissance der Verfassungsvergleichung? (n 2).
80
Voßkuhle (n 32) 499–500 with further references.
81
For further details see Wahl (n 35) 96 et seq.; Susanne Baer, ‘Verfassungsvergleichung und reflexive Methode:
Interkulturelle und intersubjektive Kompetenz’ (2004) 64 Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und
Völkerrecht 735 et seq.
82
In this context, the metaphor of ‘migration’ is also happily used, cf. only Soujid Choudhry (ed), Migration of
Constitutional Ideas (Cambridge University Press 2007) and Élisabeth Zoller (ed), Migrations constitutionelles
d`hier et d`aujourd´hui, (Éditions Panthéon-Assas 2017). Cf. further Susanne Baer, ‘Travelling Concepts:
Substantive Equality on the Road’ (2010) 46 (1) Tulsa Law Review 59 et seq.

19 
 ELTE Law Journal • Andreas Voßkuhle

should not lead to the neglect of one’s own constitutional identity. Finding the right balance
between development and preservation is a particular challenge.

9 Constitutional Comparison Does Not only Take Place Occasionally

but Is Part of a Permanent Judicial Dialogue

Constitutional comparison is not only vital when dealing with concrete cases, but also an
important topic within the personal interaction of judges of European and international
constitutional and supreme courts.83 According to my ninth observation, the insights
gained when judges meet to exchange knowledge and experience often find their way
into constitutional jurisprudence.84 Opportunities for this dialogue des juges arise during
mutual visits of European or foreign courts, 85 symposia, larger conferences or personal
meetings and discussions. There are also multilateral meetings, for example within the
framework of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts,86 the World Conference
on Constitutional Courts, the so-called Sechsertreffen, a meeting of the German-language
constitutional courts, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court
of Human Rights, or the Heidelberg Discussion Group ‘Constitutional Court Network’,
and bilateral meetings. For example, the Federal Constitutional Court meets regularly with
colleagues from the Austrian Constitutional Court, the French Conseil Constitutionnel,
the UK Supreme Court and the Italian Corte Costituzionale. Another important place for
exchange is the Venice Commission.87 There, judges from different countries can find out
whether (constitutional) case law on specific issues already exists in the member states
of the Council of Europe. In addition, the Federal Constitutional Court also keeps itself
informed of the current case law of other constitutional courts from North America to

83
Cf. also Monica Claes and Maartje de Visser, ‘Are You Networked Yet? On Dialogues in European Judicial
Networks’ (2012) 8 Utrecht Law Review 100 et seq. https://doi.org/10.18352/ulr.197; Michael Nunner,
Kooperation internationaler Gerichte. Lösung zwischengerichtlicher Konflikte durch herrschaftsfreien Diskurs
(Mohr Siebeck 2009). https://doi.org/10.1628/978-3-16-151175-2
84
Cf. Anne-Marie Slaughter, ‘Global Community of Courts’ (2003) 44 Harvard International Law Journal
191 et seq.; Jutta Limbach, ‘Globalization of Constitutional Law through Interaction of Judges’ (2008) 41 (1)
Verfassung und Recht in Übersee 51 et seq. https://doi.org/10.5771/0506-7286-2008-1-51; Susanne Baer, ‘Praxen
des Verfassungsrechts: Text, Gericht und Gespräche im Konstitutionalismus’ in Michael Bäuerle et al. (eds),
Demokratie-Perspektiven. Festschrift für Brun-Otto Bryde, (Mohr Siebeck 2013) 3 et seq.
85
On average, the Federal Constitutional Court welcomes five delegations from European and international Courts
a year and likewise pays five other highest or constitutional courts a visit.
86
For further details see Karl-Georg Zierlein, ‘Entwicklung und Möglichkeiten einer Union: Die Konferenz der
Europäischen Verfassungsgerichte’ in Walther Fürst, Roman Herzog and Dieter C. Umbach (eds), Festschrift
für Wolfgang Zeidler, vol I (De Gruyter 1987) 315 et seq.
87
The Venice Commission, for instance, publishes a bulletin on Constitutional Case-Law for the Council of
Europe’s area since 1993 (all issues since the year 2003 are available under <http://www.venice.coe.int/WebForms/
pages/?p=02_02_Bulletins> accessed 30 December 2022); it also provides the electronic database ‘CODICES’,
which can be accessed under (http://www.codices.coe.int/NXT/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm).

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 Constitutional Comparison by Constitutional Courts…

Africa and Asia. Since 2017, the monthly ‘Newsletter International’ has been published in-
house, which presents foreign decisions in condensed form and is directly accessible to the
judges and all other employees.

10 Constitutional Comparison by Constitutional Courts Is Dependent on

Academic Support

Despite the personal exchange between the judges of the constitutional and supreme
courts and the establishment of numerous databases, the constitutional courts remain
dependent on academic support. As my former colleague at the Federal Constitutional
Court, Brun-Otto Bryde, once vividly remarked: ‘A constitutional court is not a comparative
law institute and never will become one’. 88 This leads to my tenth observation. The
Federal Constitutional Court receives support, for example, from the multi-volume series
‘Constitutions of the Countries of the World (CCW)’, which has been published by the
Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law for over ten years
now. Also of great use is the online database ‘Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative
Constitutional Law (MPECCoL)’ 89, maintained by the Max Planck Foundation for
International Peace and the Rule of Law. The database aims to cover all areas of constitutional
law from a comparative perspective, taking into account all legal cultures and the various
methods of comparative constitutional law. Other works that are popular as an introduction
in everyday life are, for example, the short textbook by Albrecht Weber on comparative
European constitutional law,90 the textbook Französisches und Deutsches Verfassungsrecht
by Nikolaus Marsch, Yoan Vilain and Mattias Wendel,91 the already mentioned textbook
by Armin v. Bogdandy and Peter M. Huber,92 or the various English-language handbooks
on comparative constitutional law.93 Specifically related to comparative constitutional law
practice are, for example, the works Comparative Constitutional Reasoning edited by András
Jakab and others,94 Courts and Comparative Law edited by Mads Andenas and Duncan
Fairgrieve and the compendium Judicial Cosmopolitanism: The Use of Foreign Law in
Contemporary Constitutional Systems.95 As such, there is no lack of support.

88
Bryde (n 51) 298.
89
Accessible under http://oxcon.ouplaw.com/home/MPECCOL.
90
See the reference in n 38.
91
Nikolaus Marsch, Yoan Vilain and Matthias Wendel (eds), Französisches und Deutsches Verfassungsrecht.
Ein Rechtsvergleich (Springer, Berlin – Heidelberg 2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45053-2
92
See the reference in n 42.
93
Cf. the references in n 38, 42, 44 and 91.
94
András Jakab, Arthur Dyevre and Giulio Itzcovich (eds), Comparative Constitutional Reasoning (Cambridge
University Press 2017). https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316084281
95
See for both the references in n 46.

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 ELTE Law Journal • Andreas Voßkuhle

11 Comparative Law by Constitutional Judges Has a Personal

Component

Nevertheless, according to my eleventh observation, the willingness of the judges of the

Federal Constitutional Court to engage in constitutional comparison seems to differ. This
certainly has something to do with personal preferences,96 language skills and the respective
professional background. International lawyers are more inclined to comparative law than,
for example, former judges of the Federal Supreme Court, but there is also a link to the
training of German lawyers, which still places too little emphasis on the comparative
perspective. The model of the ‘European lawyer’ is not yet sufficiently internalised.97

12 Constitutional Comparison Stimulates Judicial Self-Reflection

Let me conclude with a final personal observation. We have observed the following that
comparative constitutional law is part of the everyday life of constitutional judges but it
remains a difficult and usually not very transparent business, which is supported by neither a
clear motive nor clear methodological guidelines. Nevertheless, as Susanne Baer rightly points
out, it remains heuristically valuable, because not just any ideas, but very specific information is
introduced into a debate.98 This promotes the deliberative process within internal discussions
and stimulates self-reflection.99 It is often the engagement with the unfamiliar that leads to a
deeper understanding of the well-known. Perhaps this is even the most important function of
judicial constitutional comparisons.

96
On the significance of the personal experiences of the acting persons Classen (n 7) paras 12–13.
97
For further details see Andreas Voßkuhle, ‘Das Leitbild des „europäischen Juristen“’ in Voßkuhle (n 69) 19 et
seq. with further references.
98
Baer, ‘Zum Potenzial der Rechtsvergleichung für den Konstitutionalismus’ (n 2) 398.
99
Plainly on this aspect Markus Kotzur, ‘„Verstehen durch Hinwegdenken“ und/oder „Ausweitung der
Kampfzone“’ (2015) 63 Jahrbuch des öffentlichen Rechts der Gegenwart. Neue Folge 355, 356–357. https://doi.
org/10.1017/9781316084281

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