Die Allgemeinheit des Gesetzes

The concept of the law is one of generality. However, this concept has been forgotten. There is no adherence to specific claims to generality in the German Basic Law and in European law. The promise of freedom has always been a part of general law. This promise is addressed to the community based on the rule of law and supplements the constitutional protection in individual cases. Today, technological progress, social expectations and close intergovernmental cooperation pose a challenge to lawmaking and legal coordination. The lawmaker often reacts to this with an abundance of regulations and with the supposed legal security given by a special law. Gregor Kirchhof shows how the generality of the law could become an important guarantor for parliamentary democracy and human rights.