Third Party Effect of Fundamental Rights (Drittwirkung)

Abstract

Drittwirkung (third party effect) is a legal doctrine in German law used to apply public law provisions such as fundamental rights to private law relations such as contracts. The doctrine has a complex theory and equally complex interpretations. The article proposes that third party effect of fundamental rights is best understood functionally in terms of: who has a right, against whom, and how may the right be enforced. Much of the confusion related to the competing theories and interpretations of Drittwirkung whether before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) or the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) can be thereby avoided.

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