The acceptance of the labour law and social law in East Germany

When both German States unified, labour and social law of the Federal Republic of Germany - just as all the other branches of law - were transferred to the New Bundeslander. In the course of this process problems have arisen regarding the acceptance of the new law by the citizens in East Germany; however, every legal system depends on being approved if it is to function smoothly. The reasons for the reservations the transferred law met lie in the transformation process itself as well as in the fundamental differences existing between the law once applicable in the German Democratic Republic and the law applicable in the Federal Republic of Germany. Analysing these reasons is of importance in order to understand and overcome the problems of acceptance in Germany. In addition, this question is of interest to the development of a general theory of transformation even if the transformation in the New Bundeslander is unique of its kind.