Fortbestehende Fragen der Vorbehaltsproblematik – Am Beispiel des deutschen Vorbehalts zum Europäischen Fürsorgeabkommen -

Even though the foundations of the Law of reservations to international treaties have been codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), several essential questions regarding reservations to international treaties remain unanswered. At the same time, international treaties, except for human rights treaties such as the ECHR, rarely play a key role in the rulings of German public law courts. Accordingly, they have so far scarcely had to comment on the issues raised by reservations to international treaties. In this regard, a judgement passed in 2015 by the Federal Social Court (Bundessozialgericht, BSG) appears to be a notable exception. The ruling of the court in this case depended on the admissibility of a reservation made by the Federal Republic of Germany to the European Convention on Social and Medical Assistance in 2011. Taking the according proceedings as a starting point, the article examines central questions of the Law of reservations to international treaties unanswered by the VCLT. It puts specific emphasis on the relationship between the rules on reservations and the role of the other parties to an international treaty.