Subsidiarity and the Social State Clause in the Constitution of Germany

Abstract

The social state clause (Sozialstaatsklauzel) formulated in the Constitution of Germany is one of the most significant and important constitutional rules for a political and legal system of modern Germany. It obligates the institutions of state not only to care for the welfare of the citizens but also (what is equally important) it determines the sphere of state’s interference in citizens’ life. The main object of the submitted article is to prove that German social state clause follows the subsidiarity principle. In order to do that at the beginning, the article analyzes the history of subsidiarity that comes from the Catholic social teaching. The second part of the article describes the process of social state principle’s implementation to the political system of Germany and the third part describes its doctrinal interpretation. The fourth part of the paper indicates the constitutional and legal regulations related to the subsidiarity principle. The argumentation presented in the submitted article will prove that social state should follow the subsidiarity principle in order to save its own efficiency.