75 Years and Still Relevant: A Look Back at NRW's Populace-Shaping Constitution
Seventy-Five Years of Data Protection Legislation: Evolution of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Constitution - Data Protection in Europe Shift to North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)
Hey, bud! Let's dive into the juicy tale of the North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state constitution as it blows out its 75th candles! From schools and voting to data protection and the environment, this ol' gal has been a beacon guiding the daily lives of the state's congested inhabitants. But don't let her age fool you - she's far from past her prime!
To celebrate this monumental occasion, the Foundation House of History of North Rhine-Westphalia is putting on an exhibition in the state parliament,from July 3 to 11. This shindig gives a grand tour of the constitution's history, from its inception in 1950 to the significant events that revolutionized the state's landscape.
Back in 1968, the schooling system got an overhaul, ushering in a four-year primary school and a secondary main school, and putting an end to the denomination separation of schools. A year later, sparked by the raucous student movement of '68, the voting age for active voters was dropped to 18. In 1978, privacy took center stage when data protection was enshrined as a cornerstone right, earning NRW the title of the first German state to protect data in its constitution. In 1985, North Rhine-Westphalia recognized environmental protection as a state objective, a reflection of the lengthy debates stirred around the issue. Fast forward to 2002, and the state parliament beefed up political participation, spawning the "citizens' initiative," granting the populace a louder voice on state concerns and cementing children's rights within the constitution. More recently, in 2020, the constitution was tweaked to reference Europe, highlighting the state's commitment to fostering a unified continent.
As Hans Walter Hütter, the big cheese over at the House of History of North Rhine-Westphalia, puts it, "The constitution serves as the bedrock for our coexistence, but the winds of change also shape the constitution."
Revising the constitution requires a whopping two-thirds vote from the state parliament, and there have been loads of changes over the years. A cool tidbit about the constitution of NRW is that the minister-president must be a sitting parliamentarian, unlike the ministers.
The adoption of the Basic Law in May 1949 was a game changer in the NRW constitution's creation. Following heated debates, the state parliament put pen to paper on June 6, 1950, and the citizens ratified it in a referendum on June 18, 1950. NRW's constitution officially sprang to life on July 11, 1950, four years after the state's birth.
North Rhine-Westphalia was hatched in 1946 by the British military government after the final curtain call of World War II. This lovely union brought together the northern slice of the Prussian Rhine Province and Westphalia in a coup de nom called "Marriage" on August 23, 1946, in Düsseldorf. Lippe jumped on board a year later.
- NRW
- Constitution
- Europe
- Data Protection
- Westphalia
- State Constitution
- House of History
- People
- Schools
- Voting Rights
- Environment
- The current exhibition at the Foundation House of History of North Rhine-Westphalia highlights the state's commitment to Europe, as seen in the 2020 amendment to the NRW constitution, emphasizing its role in fostering a united continent.
- In 1978, the constitution of NRW was amended to enshrine data protection as a fundamental right, making North Rhine-Westphalia the first German state to protect individual privacy in its policy-and-legislation.
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