Constitutional and legal content of the principle of federation allegiance in modern Germany

The fundamental principle of the German federation is the principle of allegiance to the federation. This principle enshrines a constitutional and legal duty according to which lands have to remain faithful to one another and to the Federation as well as the Federation to lands. The federal constitutional court of Germany attaches the central significance to the constitutional duty of allegiance of the Federation and lands. It repeatedly pointed out that in the German federal state "all constitutional legal relations between the state and its constituent parts as well as the constitutional legal relations between subjects are defined by the domination of the unwritten constitutional principle of "a mutual debt" of the Federation and lands: to act for the benefit of the Federation. Thus, the principle of federal allegiance is intended to provide stability in federal relations and to strengthen legal connection between the Federation and its subjects: it implies the duty of participants of federal relations to mutual respect, support and partnership. In the state (constitutional) law of Germany the duties of mutual assistance, mutual respect, mutual readiness for understanding, and the obligation for coordination of actions and cooperation result from the principle of allegiance to the federation. They also include the obligations of Federation to protect the lands in relations with other states and the European Union implying that the Federation will protect the lands and effectively represent their interests in external relations. One of the main groups of obligations is made of obligations for assistance and support. Being the most characteristic example of such obligations, "financial alignment" is intended to provide funding for the Federation and its subjects. "Financial alignment" means the distribution of means from the federal budget between financially "strong" and financially "weak" lands. The purpose of this alignment is "ensuring the equal standard of living on the territory of all Germany" that is enshrined in the Basic law of Germany (Paragraph 3, Article 106). The Federal Republic of Germany has the most smoothly running and complicated system of financial alignment. As far as "financial alignment" is concerned, the Federal constitutional court of Germany established that the principle of allegiance to the federation obliges separate lands to give certain financial support to weaker lands irrespective of their sovereignty and financial independence. However, the duty of mutual support is not boundless: help is given only if it is necessary and if the party rendering it is capable of it. Therefore, financial alignment should not seriously weaken the economy of donor lands or level the financial condition of lands.

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