Bernhard Schlink, Born in Grossdornberg, Germany, in 1944. Phil. habil. from the University of Freiburg. Professor of Public Law and Legal Philosophy at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Spinoza Fellow (1 September 2010 – 31 January 2011)
Proportionality in Comparative Constitutionalism
My research at NIAS will focus on the principle of proportionality in comparative constitutionalism. The principle of proportionality with its three elements – fitness, necessity, appropriateness, the latter meaning the right balance between the means and the end – comes into play whenever action about means and ends has to be judged. In the second half of the 20th century constitutional courts in many countries, from Germany and most European countries to Israel, Canada and South Africa, and the European Court of Justice, have adopted it as the primary tool sometimes used to judge legislation and other state action. The research project will compare the different ways in which the tool is being used, the reasons for its popularity, and the benefits and the problems of its use. The principle seems to be part of a deep structure of constitutionalism that underlies all modern, liberal, and democratic constitutions under the rule of law.
Follow Schlink as Spinoza Fellow at RNW.
Bernhard Schlink, Grundrechte, (Heidelberg, 26th ed. 2010).
Bernhard Schlink, Polizei- und Ordnungsrecht, (Munich, 6th ed. 2010).
Bernhard Schlink, Guilt about the Past, (Brisbane 2008, Toronto 2010).
Bernhard Schlink also writes fiction.
Personal Website (Official Dutch Website)