The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation which is formed by 16 Federal States (Bundesländer) and has a population of 82 million people. Its constitution, the Basic Law, was promulgated in 1949 and defines five principles for the political order of the state. According to these principles, the Federal Republic of Germany is a republic and a democracy, a federation, a state based on the rule of law and a social welfare state. The federal order is the fundamental principle of public law and the organisation of the Federal Republic of Germany as a state. Human rights and civic rights such as human dignity, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression and freedom of the press, as well as freedom of movement, are inviolable basic rights and at the core of the constitution.

The Basic Law may only be amended with the consent of two-thirds of the members of the German Federal Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) as well as of two-thirds of the votes in the Federal Council (Bundesrat). Some provisions of the Basic Law may not be amended at all. These constitutional principles include Germany’s structure as a federal state, the separation of powers, the principle of Germany being a democracy, a state based on the rule of law and a social welfare state. Other inviolable principles are the pledge to human dignity and the core equal rights and freedoms enshrined in the Basic Law.