A book that is so exciting that you read every line on every page and can’t put it down until the very end? It means simply in English Page turner. There are many of them, and the Basic Law is certainly not one of them. A thriller that you devour in one go reads differently than this rather factual legal text. And we also know how the story ends.
At Hugendubel on Munich’s Marienplatz you have to look for the booklet. It’s hidden at the top of the “Economy and Law” section, coming from the escalator in the left corner – between the Civil Code and the Criminal Code. Two intertwined ‘Gs’ in blue and green can be found on the otherwise very simple cover. The small white paperback from the renowned CH Beck publishing house in Munich-Schwabing costs 9.90 euros; five copies are currently in stock.
And yet, even 75 years after its first release, you can still speak of it as an evergreen. The Basic Law is now in its 53rd edition, and more are expected. At least around 1,500 units are sold nationwide every year, says a Hugendubel spokeswoman. The Basic Law “continues to be in high demand in the market,” says Beck-Verlag. There are regular new editions of the collections of laws, commentaries and handbooks on the Basic Law. The collections of laws are aimed at all target groups; the commentaries are primarily sought after by specialized law firms, courts, authorities and academics. “Our publications on the Basic Law have long been an important component of our publishing program,” says a Beck spokesman.
The language is “of literary merit,” said a former constitutional judge
How high was the total circulation of the Basic Law over the past 75 years? Unknown. But you can find a copy somewhere in many German households. The actual Basic Law comprises 74 pages, and it also consists of more than the well-known basic rights of Articles 1 to 19. And it is always changing, most recently, for example, Article 87a was added, which regulates the Bundeswehr’s special assets amounting to one hundred billion euros.
Official texts such as the Basic Law are not subject to copyright protection. They are “public domain”, as the technical term goes, meaning they are freely available to the general public. Anyone is allowed to print and distribute the text of the Basic Law as it appears in the Federal Law Gazette. In addition to Beck, many other publishers also do this. There are also versions for children and students. At the Federal Agency for Civic Education You can order copies free of charge, and up to half a million are sent every year. A PDF is available online, also in Turkish, Arabic or Russian. Notes and complicated comments on the individual articles of the Basic Law, on the other hand, are subject to copyright.
Some may also be genuinely enthusiastic about the text, especially its comprehensibility and clear, simple expressions of great values. Udo di Fabio, lawyer and former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court, writes in his foreword in the Beck-Verlag edition: “The language of the constitution is of literary importance not only in the preamble.”