Country report, gender equality : how are EU rules transposed into national law? : Germany 2017

European gender equality and anti-discrimination directives were explicitly implemented by the 2006 General Equal Treatment Act and the 2006 Law on Equal Treatment of Soldiers, both federal statutes. Since then, no further explicit implementation by German legislation has taken place. But nearly all of the issues, concepts, prohibitions, rights and measures covered by the European directives are subject to legal regulation in one way or another under German law. They are covered by federal or state laws, collective and works agreements, self-regulatory norms and court rulings. Legislative powers are distributed between the federal and state (Land) level in Germany. Concerning key issues of the gender equality directives, most legislative powers still reside at the federal level. But state competences have increased over the years concerning the civil service and work in the public sector. Moreover, the multitude of social security schemes as well as many aspects of working life are not only shaped by federal and state law but also by collective and works agreements and the self-regulations of professional organisations. Courts are established on the regional, state and federal level. Concerning discrimination in the field of employment, the labour courts are competent except for discrimination within the civil service (which falls under the ambit of the administrative courts). The civil courts decide on claims concerning the provision of goods and services under civil law, while the administrative courts are competent for claims against public authorities. Moreover, there are specialised courts for social and tax law. Court decisions in violation of the principle of constitutional equality can be subject to an annulment by the Federal Constitutional Court. Without taking non-statutory agreements and regulations as well as court decisions into consideration, the legal framework on gender equality can neither be presented nor evaluated.