The Judgment of the First Senate of 28 April 1999 – 1 BvL 32/95, 1 BvR 2105/95

Headnotes
to the Judgment of the First Senate of 28 April 1999
– 1 BvL 32/95 –
– 1 BvR 2105/95 –

1. The entitlements and expectancies under supplementary and spe- cial pensions systems acquired in the German Democratic Republic and recognised in the Treaty between the Federal Republic of Ger- many and the German Democratic Republic on the Establishment of German Unity (Vertrag vom 31. August 1990 zwischen der Bundesre- publik Deutschland und der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik über die Herstellung der Einheit Deutschlands, Unification Treaty) in accor- dance with its provisions as legal positions in the all-German legal system are protected by Article 14.1 sentence 1 of the Basic Law.
2. It is constitutionally unobjectionable that the supplementary and special pensions systems that existed in the German Democratic Re- public are discontinued and the entitlements and expectancies ac- quired thereunder are transferred to the statutory pensions insurance scheme. The provision in the Unification Treaty relating to the guaran- teed amount paid must, however, be interpreted in conformity with the Basic Law to the effect that the amount paid guaranteed there is to be adapted to the development of wages and income from 1 January 1992 for existing pensioners.
3. The provision in § 10.1 sentence 2 of the Act on the Transfer of Enti- tlements and Expectancies under Supplementary and Special Pen- sions Systems of the German Democratic Republic (Gesetz zur Über- führung der Ansprüche und Anwartschaften aus Zusatz- und Sonderversorgungssystemen des Beitrittsgebiets, Anspruchs- und Anwartschaftsüberführungsgesetz, Transfer of Titles and Expectan- cies Act) on the provisional restriction of the amount paid violates Ar- ticle 14.1 of the Basic Law and is void.