The Constitution supplies the standard of review.
An ordinary legal dispute may concern a contract or an administrative decision. A constitutional question instead examines whether state action respects constitutional limits and protected rights.
The Federal Constitutional Court decides only cases within its jurisdiction. Examples include constitutional complaints and certain disputes between constitutional institutions. It is not a general political advisory service.
The other three answers
These courts have other jurisdictions but are also bound by the Constitution.
Higher Regional Court
A Higher Regional Court belongs to the ordinary court system. It is not the special federal court for the constitutional review meant here.
Local Court
A Local Court handles many first-instance matters. The required name for the federal constitutional court is Bundesverfassungsgericht.
Administrative Court
An Administrative Court decides certain public-law disputes, for example involving authorities. It can refer a necessary constitutional review of a law to the Federal Constitutional Court.
It is not an extra appeal route for every lost case.
The Federal Constitutional Court does not correct every error in applying ordinary legislation. The constitutional issue and the relevant admissibility requirements are decisive.
The short test question must not be read as meaning that only this court may read or interpret the Basic Law. All courts are bound by the Constitution; the special jurisdiction and binding effect explain the answer.
Article 94 · Basic Law ↗Basic Law as the review standard: Federal Constitutional Court.
Constitutional review differs from deciding every ordinary legal dispute afresh.
Three words for this question
- die Auslegunginterpretation
- Determining the legal meaning and scope of a provision.
- die Verfassungsbeschwerdeconstitutional complaint
- A procedure alleging that public authority has violated protected rights.
- die Richtervorlagejudicial referral
- A court's referral of a material legal question to the competent constitutional court.