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The Grundgesetz' concept of the rule of law is composed of various rules and principles on the state architecture, on the structures of constitutional bodies and on basic rights guarantees that comprise requirements for the state organization and procedure. Art. 20 GG comprises several rule of law principles, however not the German rule of law principle: the separation of powers in par. 2, and in par. 3 the obligation of the legislation to the constitutional order constitution and of the executive and the judiciary to the law and justice ("Gesetz und Recht"). From here the predominance of the constitution and the law shape the legal order by a vertical hierarchy of norms. Rechtsstaatlichkeit in the a German understanding also encompasses the unlawfulness of retroactive liabilities, the proportionality of means, the individual dissolution of conflicts between legal certainty and justice in hardship cases, and complete and effective judicial review in cases with relevance to individual freedom and property rights (Art. 19 IV GG). In her book on the German understanding principle of Rechtsstaatlichkeit Rechtsstaat Katharina Sobota (1997) counted not less than 142 (sub-)principles on the basis of the Grundgesetz. Besides these, however, no further normative content of the principle is generally approved.
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