Der Verhältnismäßigkeitsgrundsatz Herleitungsalternativen, Rechtsstatus und Funktionen

cing' (a term which can arguably be replaced by the standard terminology of systematic-teleological interpretation) is inevitable if relevant norms are vague. Crucially, this vagueness of relevant standards in conjunction with a tribunal's duty to decide a case can only be read as an implicit competence (and obligation) to render these norms more concrete in a given case, although this necessarily includes some degree of subjective value judgments. This degree correlates with the vagueness of the relevant norms. Balancing (proportionality in its narrow sense) in the sense of a requirement of comprehensive legal reasoning disclosing all relevant arguments in fact constitutes a means to reduce arbitrariness in this context. Thus, the overall function of the test of proportionality in the wider sense can be seen in structuring, and increasing the rationality of, complex decisions. If balancing is understood in the way just outlined, the difference between this procedure and 'normal' systematic-teleological interpretation appears marginal.