Practices of Social Constitutionalism: Poverty, Socio-economic Status and Social Exclusion in the Jurisprudence of the German Federal Constitutional Court

Abstract

The German Federal Constitutional Court has defined constitutional limits for exclusionary legislation in social law. In these judgments, the Federal Constitutional Court has used human dignity and social equality doctrines to address poverty and social exclusion based on a specific group status as constitutional issues. In doing that, the Federal Constitutional Court has developed practices of a social constitutionalism. While the reviewing power of apex courts for restrictions in classic civil liberties is generally accepted, it is more contested and less obvious for distributive welfare policies. That is why, the practices of social constitutionalism of the Federal Constitutional Court have been an important constitutional development in recent years. The case law shows that they strengthen the social rights protection of the most vulnerable groups in society: people in need and refugees.