Reviewing Property Rights to Meet Ecological Challenges

Abstract

Reviewing Property Rights to Meet Ecological Challenges

The guarantee of ownership not only occupies an important position in the German constitution, the Basic Law, but also shapes the constitutional foundations of neighboring European countries and many other legal systems on the world. In addition to the preservation of concrete ownership positions, the property guarantee primarily ensures the freedom of freedom of the individual, which in the property finds the material securing of his self -determination. However, ownership is not only in the service of the owner; It should also serve the common good. In this change, conflicts arise and it is increasingly solidifying if the use of property is violated by ecological common good interests, for example in the destruction of environmental goods or the (excessive) consumption of environmental resources. This speaks for a realignment of understanding of property and its relationship with socio-ecological necessities, whereby this must be based on the current ecological challenges for the company ‍ (s)-worldwide: The share of rights, which is anchored in the property, must be brought back to balance with the social and ecological responsibilities. There are socio-historical, but also constitutionally promising starting points; A current judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court on climate protection points in the same direction.