Country report, gender equality : how are EU rules transposed into national law? : Germany [2024]

The German legal system is a federal constitutional system. The centre of legal thought and practice is the parliamentary statute, but the legislator is bound by the Federal or State Constitution. The system is hierarchical: federal law takes precedence over state law, and the Federal Constitution takes precedence over the state constitutions. Due to the federal system, legislative powers are distributed between the federal and the state (Land) level in Germany. Most legislative powers relating to the key issues addressed by the gender equality directives still rest at the federal level and the EU directives were implemented by federal law. However, states have competences in relation to the civil service and work in the public sector and disputes about gender equality are often linked to the states' equality and higher education laws. Despite the importance of statutory law, areas of significance in respect of gender equality, such as the multitude of social security schemes or many aspects of working life, are shaped not only by federal and state law, but also by collective and works agreements or the internal regulations of professional organisations with a right to self-regulate. Although internal regulations and collective agreements must comply with constitutional requirements, legal scrutiny is often limited with reference to the parties' collective freedom.