Does the Precondition of the Possible (Vorbehalt Des Möglichen) Limit Judicial Intervention in Social Public Policies?

Abstract

La versión en español de este artículo está disponible en: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2441746. La versione italiana di questo documento è disponibile all'indirizzo: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2480740. A versão em português deste artigo está disponível em: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2343965.

In light of the shortage of funding to support positive rights to social welfare, the text analyses the main precedents of the Federal Constitutional Court concerning the Proviso of the Possible (Vorbehalt des Möglichen), and concludes that is not applicable to the existential minimum (Existenzminimum) and that, in terms of the enforceability (potential for judicial review) of any other positive rights to social welfare guaranteed by law, the margin of discretion granted to law-makers in budgetary policymaking should be reduced to zero. In addition, the text demonstrates that the Proviso of the Possible, contrary to what might be imagined, has nothing to do with social public policies which, in the context of fundamental procedural rights, are justified only as a means of realisation of the social benefits that may be claimed.

Keywords: Proviso of the possible (Vorbehalt des Möglichen), Existential Minimum (Existenzminimum), Positive rights to social welfare, Fundamental Rights

JEL Classification: I18, K32, K33, K23, K41, I11, I28, H75, H51, N46