Headnotes
to the Order of the First Senate of 6 November 2019
- 1 BvR 276/17 (Right to be forgotten II)
1. To the extent that fundamental rights of the Basic Law are inapplicable
due to the precedence of EU law, the Federal Constitutional Court reviews the domestic application of EU law by German authorities on the
basis of EU fundamental rights. By applying this standard of review,
the Federal Constitutional Court fulfils its responsibility with regard to
European integration under Article 23(1) of the Basic Law.
2. Regarding the application of legal provisions that are fully harmonised
under EU law, the relevant standard of review does not derive from the
fundamental rights of the Basic Law, but solely from EU fundamental
rights; this follows from the precedence of application of EU law. This
precedence of application is subject, inter alia, to the reservation that
the fundamental right in question be given sufficiently effective protection through the EU fundamental rights that are applicable instead.
3. Where the Federal Constitutional Court applies the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as the relevant standard of review, it conducts its review in close cooperation with the Court of Justice of the European Union, requesting a preliminary ruling in
accordance with Article 267(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union where necessary.
4. Just like the fundamental rights of the Basic Law, those of the Charter
are not limited to protecting citizens vis-à-vis the state, but also afford
protection in disputes between private actors. Thus, in such disputes,
the parties’ conflicting fundamental rights must be reconciled on the
basis of the applicable ordinary legislation. When conducting its review, the Federal Constitutional Court – just as when dealing with the
fundamental rights of the Basic Law – does not review the application
and interpretation of ordinary legislation but only whether the ordinary
(non-constitutional) courts gave sufficient effect to the fundamental
rights of the Charter and struck a tenable balance.
1/36