Demarcate or restrict? The debate on the scope of fundamental law protection in Germany

This study intends to examine the essential features of the ongoing debate in Germany about the concept of scope of protection of fundamental rights as a relevant category both in the German doctrine of fundamental rights and in the general theoretic research on those rights. The article puts a special emphasis on the most recent contributions on the topic and considers trends in the jurisprudence of the German Federal Constitutional Court, while submitting these to a critical analysis.