Professorenbesoldung, Tierversuche – zur Schlechterfüllung von Verfassungsaufträgen

German constitutional law enshrines various positive obligations to enact sufficient legislation to implement constitutional values in practical context. Article 33 para 5 of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz) requires the legislation governing the public service to be regulated and developed with due regard to the traditional principles of the professional civil service. One of those traditional principles is to guarantee a sufficient salary of public servants. This essay illustrates that this promise remained (and, in part, still remains) unfulfilled not only, but particularly with regard to state university professors. A relevant pay rise was enforced by constitutional litigation, strongly supported by the German University Scholars Association (Deutscher Hochschulverband). Another still simmering conflict affects the positive obligation to protect animals (Article 20a Grundgesetz) and the competing fundamental right of academic freedom (Article 5 para 3 Grundgesetz), comprising the right to apply animal experimentation in scientific research. The state legislators have to observe these practical conflicts and develop parliamentary legislation as well as administrative practice in accordance with academic freedom.