Preamble

- Constitution of Germany

BASIC LAW for the Federal Republic of Germany

(Promulgated by the Parliamentary Council on 23 May 1949) (as Amended by the Unification Treaty of 31 August 1990 and Federal Statute of 23 September 1990)

Foreword by the Federal President The following is a letter from President Richard von Weizsaecker concerning the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is not part of the Basic Law but is interesting reading: Foreword by the Federal President For more than forty years, the Basic Law has determined the development of the polity of the Federal Republic of Germany. In its area of application, it has bestowed on the citizens a life in liberty, democratic self-determination and personal responsibility, protected by law and justice. This political order is the freest the Germans have enjoyed in their history to date. For decades, the division of Germany prevented the entire German people from living in such freedom. On October 3,1990, we accomplished the unity and liberty of Germany in free self-determination. Thus all Germans now live under a constitution which protects the dignity and basic rights of man, regulates public life and facilitates peaceful change. No constitution, of course, can endow us with the ability to achieve such things. We ourselves must give life to it. We are the ones who must recognize and address new challenges, not least when it comes to forging human links between east and west in a united land. For the first time in centuries, we Germans are no longer a source of strife on the agenda of Europe. Our unification was not forced on Europe; rather, it was achieved in peaceful agreement. It is part of a common historical development, one which assures nations their liberty and which can overcome the division of our continent. We Germans in particular want to contribute resolutely to this process and have a special obligation to do so. Our unity is dedicated to it. In doing so, we fulfill the mandate of our constitution together. Richard von Weizsacker

BASIC LAW for the Federal Republic of Germany (Promulgated by the Parliamentary Council on 23 May 1949) (as Amended by the Unification Treaty of 31 August 1990 and Federal Statute of 23 September 1990) PREAMBLE (amended by Unification Treaty, 31 August 1990 and federal statute of 23 September 1990, Federal Law Gazette II p. 885). Conscious of their responsibility before God and Men, Animated by the resolve to serve world peace as an equal partner in a united Europe, the German people have adopted, by virtue of their constituent power, this Basic Law. The Germans in the Laender of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North-Rhine-Weststphalia, Rhineland-Paltinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia have achieved the unity and freedom of Germany in free self-determination. This Basic Law is thus valid for the entire German People.