Kalkar Case I
Federal Republic of Germany Federal Constitutional Court
49 BVerfGE 89 (1978)
- Written by Mary Katherine Cunningham, JD
Facts
The Atomic Energy Act provided that any entity seeking to construct or operate facilities producing nuclear fission or nuclear fuel must obtain a license. The license required the applicant to take “every necessary precaution in the light of existing scientific knowledge and technology to prevent damage resulting from the construction and operation of the installation.” In 1972, a nuclear facility in Kalkar sought and received a license to build a nuclear facility. A farm owner (plaintiff) challenged the approval of the license. This challenge in particular challenged whether the law appropriately addressed safety concerns, citing the facility’s decision to construct a newer type of nuclear reactor that utilized fast breeder reactions. The lower court found that, given the significant safety implications for nuclear construction, the legislature needed to establish more tangible standards and specifications for license approval. The Federal Constitutional Court received a referral on the matter, seeking a decision on the constitutionality of the Atomic Energy Act and the lower-court decision.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
What to do next…
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
