The Constitution of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg (German: ''Verfassung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg'') is the basic governing document of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. It was approved on 6 June 1952. It is the fourth constitution that the state has had, consists of 76 articles, and has been amended 34 times.

History

Erich and Martin Verg considered a document called " the first Rezeß" of 1410 as the first constitution of Hamburg, although it has had no democratically founded proceedings to establish it. The first official constitution was established on 28 September 1860. It introduced a form of

representative democracy Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represen ...

with limitations on the right to vote, e.g. only males could vote. On 13 October 1879 a new constitution (''Verfassung der freien und Hansestadt Hamburg'') was created. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1919 in the parliamentary

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

, the

Hamburg Parliament The Hamburg Parliament (german: Hamburgische Bürgerschaft; literally “Hamburgish Citizenry”) is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Hamburg according to the constitution of Hamburg. As of 2011 there were 121 members in the parli ...

ratified a temporary constitution (titled ''Gesetz über die Vorläufige Staatsgewalt''), with an official constitution (titled ''Verfassung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg'') being formally approved in 1921. The constitution of 1952 was ratified by the

Content

The constitution consists of 76 articles and a

preamble A preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subj ...

. Dieter Läpple noted the importance placed by the preamble on the fact that Hamburg is a port and trade city, stating the following: It is divided into the following sections: *legal foundations (I). In contrast to the other two city-states

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

the constitution does not separate between state (Land) and local communal affairs. *sections for the

(II) and senate (III) *law (IV) and administration (V) *

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

(VI) *budget and finance (VII) *and final and transitional provisions (VIII) Because the constitution was approved in 1959, after the

Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came in ...

(approved in 1949)—which is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and legal also for the German states (federal law supersedes state law)—a section outlining human or basic rights (

fundamental right Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Sustai ...

s) is missing.

Constitutional institutions

The

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

is the

, the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

is the Hamburg Constitutional Court (''Hamburgisches Verfassungsgericht'') and the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

is represented by the senate (the cabinet), which is headed by the First Mayor of Hamburg (''Erster Bürgermeister der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg''), a position equivalent to a

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

minister-president A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...

Amendments

The constitution has been amended 34 times since 1952.

References

Literature

* Werner Thieme: ''Verfassung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg. Kommentar mit einem Anhang Hamburgischer staatsrechtlicher Gesetze''. Harvestehuder Fachverlag, Hamburg 1998. * 50 Jahre Verfassung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg : Festakt am 6. Juni 2002 im Hamburger Rathaus, Hamburgische Bürgerschaft, Hamburg 2002.

External links

Verfassung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg
retrieved 2009-07-22 {{DEFAULTSORT:Constitution of Hamburg

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Government of Hamburg Hamburg law 1952 in law