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Compulsory Military Service and Equal Treatment of Men and Women – Recent Decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court and the European Court of Justice (Alexander Dory v. Germany)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2019

Karen Raible

Extract

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The European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided, in the case Tanja Kreil v. Germany, that Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 (equal treatment directive) precludes the application of national provisions, such as those of German law, which impose a general exclusion of women from military posts involving the use of arms. The ECJ found that such policies violated the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions. Since this ruling both the Bundesverfassungsgericht (BVerfG – Federal Constitutional Court) and the ECJ have had to confront the question whether the German system of compulsory military service for men is compatible with Article 3.2 and 3.3 of the Grundgesetz (GG – German Basic Law) and the equal treatment directive.

Type
Public Law
Information
German Law Journal , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , 01 April 2003 , pp. 299 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 by German Law Journal GbR 

References

1 Case C-285/98, Tanja Kreil v. Germany, [2000] ECR I-69.Google Scholar

2 OJ 1976 L 39, p. 40.Google Scholar

3 An English translation of the German Basic Law can be found at <http://www.iuscomp.org/gla/>..>Google Scholar

4 See, Russell Miller, Dodging the Draft: Federal Constitutional Court Evades Review of Germany's Military Service Law, 3 German Law Journal No. 5 (1 May 2002), <http://www.germanlawjournal.com>..>Google Scholar

5 BGBl. 1995 I, p. 1756.Google Scholar

6 FCC, 2 BvL 2/02, 2002 Neue Juristische Wochenschrift p. 1709 et seq.Google Scholar

7 The question if the the ECJ judgment in the case Tanja Kreil v. Germany necessitated an amendment to Article 12a.4 of the German Basic Law was widely debated in Germany. See, e.g., Karl Doehring, Die erste Seite: Vorwärts Amazonen, 2000 Recht der internationalen Wirtschaft No. 3.Google Scholar

8 BGBl. 2000 I, p. 1755. Article 12a.4 of the German Basic Law used to read: “If, during a state of defense, the need for civilian services in the civilian health system or in stationary military hospitals cannot be met on a voluntary bases, women between the ages of eighteen and fifty-five may be called upon to render such services. Under no circumstances may they render service involving the use of arms.”Google Scholar

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12 BVerfGE 12, 45 (52).Google Scholar

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16 Advocate General Stix-Hackl in case C-186/01, Alexander Dory v. Germany, opinion of 28 November 2002, not yet published, para. 98 et seq.Google Scholar

17 Compulsory military service as such cannot be regarded as employment. See, e.g., Advocate General Stix-Hackl in case C-186/01, Alexander Dory v. Germany, opinion of 28 November 2002, not yet published, para. 73; Carl Otto Lenz, Frauen im Dienst mit der Waffe – nationales Reservat oder europäische Gleichberechtigung?, 2000 Zeitschrift für Rechtspolitik p. 265, 268.Google Scholar

18 Case C-186/01, Alexander Dory v. Germany, judgment of 11 March 2003, not yet published, Rec. 42: “[…] Community law does not preclude compulsory military service being reserved to men.”Google Scholar

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20 Case 222/84, Marguerite Johnston v. Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, [1986] ECR 1651, Rec. 26.Google Scholar

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23 See, Articles 30, 39, 46, 58 and 64 of the EC Treaty.Google Scholar

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