Suchergebnisse

Abstract

No Weimar Constitution without a guarantee of the corporate status of religious communities? The discussion about article 137 section 5 of the Weimar Constitution and its content in the National Assembly of Weimar. Some researchers hold that without the constitutional guarantee of the corporate status of religious communities in article 137 section 5 the Weimar Constitution in 1919 would not have come about. The minutes of the constituent Weimar National Assembly, however, do not indicate that the guarantee of the corporate status was in danger to fail in default of political consensus. Rather, the decision in favour of a constitutional guarantee of the corporate status had already been made early in the debate. Yet it remained unclear and controversial which rights this status contained, except of the right to taxation explicitly guaranteed by article 137 section 6 of the Weimar Constitution. The deputies assumed that the specific rights of the religious communities were not determined by Article 137 section 5 of the Weimar Constitution, but by the legislation of the German Länder.

In case the civil claim for return doesn't help the public archive to recover dispossessed public archive material, it's in question if the archive versus the material's possessor has got a public-law claim for return by virtue of the public law of things. That's generally not the case, contrary to a now as ever held opinion: If the archive - precisely: the public subject of the archive - has lost not only the possession but also the property right of the archive material, the archive is able to realize the recovery of the archive material neither by administrative action nor by action for performance through the administrative court. The same applies in case the archive hasn't lost its property right of the archive material but isn't able to realize the civil claim for return because of its statutory limitation. Here, too, a public-law request for return based only on the presumed public law of things is unsuccessful.
Something different applies to the Free State of Saxony and the Free State of Thuringia: Recently the state legislator has conceded a public-law claim for return to the public archives versus the possessor of dispossessed public archive material - a novelty in the entire public law of things. However, because of the constitutional property guarantee (Article 14, section 1 of the German Basic Law) the relevant state law (Section 8, paragraph 2, sentence 3 Saxon Archives Act; Section 2, paragraph 1, sentence 4 Thuringian Archives Act) has to be interpreted in conformity with the constitution: The state law grants the archives a public-law claim for return which is cognizable by action for performance through the administrative court. But only, although at least, versus the archive material's possessor who isn't the material's proprietor.
This applies mutatis mutandis to other (i. e. non-archival) public things. In so far, however, because of the property guarantee (Article 14, section 1 of the German Basic Law) legislative amendments can be taken into consideration at most and only concerning unique specimens which are irreplaceable for public purposes: cultural assets with a unique character.

Der zahlreichen Religionsgemeinschaften zukommende Körperschaftsstatus und dessen Verfassungsgarantie (Art. 140 GG / Art. 137 Abs. 5 Satz 1 WRV) dienen der herrschenden Meinung als Dreh- und Angelpunkt weiter Teile des staatlichen Religionsrechts. Demgegenüber ist festzustellen, dass einige der den Religionskörperschaften herkömmlich zugebilligten Rechte und Vergünstigungen diesen bei Lichte besehen nicht oder nicht ohne Weiteres zustehen (z.B. Beglaubigungsrecht, Datenübermittlungsansprüche, Insolvenzunfähigkeit). Andere Rechte stehen den Religionskörperschaften zwar zu, sind aber ihres mutmaßlich staatshoheitlichen Charakters zu entkleiden, nicht vom Körperschaftsstatus abhängig und/oder nicht verfassungskräftig gewährleistet (z.B. Dienstherrnfähigkeit, öffentlich-rechtliche Sachherrschaftsfähigkeit, Drittsenderechte). Dieses formelle Verständnis des Körperschaftsstatus führt zwangsläufig zu einem Bedeutungsverlust von Körperschaftsstatus und -garantie und hat Auswirkungen auch auf die Voraussetzungen der Körperschaftsverleihung. / »Aspects of the Status of Religious Communities as Corporate Bodies under Public Law« -- The corporate status of religious communities and its constitutional guarantee (Article 140 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany in conjunction with Article 137 of the Weimar Constitution) are according to the prevailing opinion the key to large parts of state law concerning religions. In contrast to this it has to be realized that some rights of religious communities de facto do not exist, do not depend on the corporate status or aren't guaranteed constitutionally.