PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 19124/02) against the Federal Republic of Germany lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a German national, Ms Gisela Kirsten (“the applicant”), on 1 May 2002.

The applicant was represented by Mr K.H. Christoph, a lawyer practising in Berlin. The German Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mrs A. Wittling-Vogel, Ministerialrätin, of the Federal Ministry of Justice.

On 2 May 2005 the Court decided to give notice of the application to the Government. Applying Article 29 § 3 of the Convention, it decided to rule on the admissibility and merits of the application at the same time.

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1944 and lives in Berlin.

From 1960 to 1979 she worked as a ballet dancer for the Erich-Weinert-Ensemble (EWE), a national company of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). In 1979 she terminated her career on stage and worked for the company as a set and costume designer.

The EWE paid the applicant her wages as a costume and set designer and, in addition, a monthly allowance in the amount of 588 GDR marks (hereafter „the allowance“). The allowance was paid by virtue of the regulation of the Minister of Culture (Anordnung über die Gewährung einer berufsbezogenen Zuwendung an Ballettmitglieder in staatlichen Einrichtungen der DDR) of 1 September 1976. Pursuant to this regulation former members of ballets in the GDR were paid an allowance at the end of their career on stage. The allowance accrued after reaching the age of 35 and having worked for at least 15 years as a dancer. It was paid, irrespective of other earnings, by the former employer. Once the former dancer received an old-age or invalidity pension the allowance was regularly paid by the National Insurance of the GDR (Staatliche Versicherung der DDR).

After the reunification of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) the EWE which formerly belonged to the National People's Army (Nationale Volksarmee) of the GDR was incorporated into the organisation of the Federal Ministry of Defence of the FRG. The Ministry took over the contracts with the company's staff and continued to pay the applicant her wages and the allowance. The allowance and the retirement pensions were moreover converted and paid in German Marks (DEM).

On 1 January 1992 the Ministry discontinued all allowance payments to former ballet dancers with reference to Article 9 § 2 in conjunction with Appendix II, Chapter VIII, Section H, paragraph III Nr. 6 of the German Unification Treaty.

In December 1992 the applicant brought an action with the Berlin Social Court claiming the payment of the allowance.

On 24 August 1994 the Federal Social Court ruled in a leading judgment that the social courts had no jurisdiction over disputes concerning the allowance. It found that those disputes belonged to the realm of civil – and more specifically – labour law, inter alia because the granting and the amount of the allowance were so closely linked to the contract of employment and in particular to the respective wages.

On 13 January 1995 the Berlin Social Court referred the applicant's case to the Frankfurt/Oder Labour Court.

On 15 May 1996 the Frankfurt/Oder Labour Court ordered the Ministry of Defence to pay the applicant DEM 28,224 and the monthly allowance as of January 1996. It pointed out that the wording of the pertinent provision of the German Unification Treaty was ambiguous. The provision could be interpreted as setting 31 December 1991 as the final date to qualify for the allowance or as terminating permanently the allowance payments from that date onwards. However, in view of the principle of the protection of legitimate expectations (Vertrauensschutz) the allowance payments could not be permanently discontinued without an explicit and a precise regulation in the German Unification Treaty. Therefore the provision had to be construed as setting 31 December 1991 as the final date to qualify for the allowance.

On 13 May 1998 the Brandenburg Regional Labour Court quashed the decision of the Frankfurt/Oder Labour Court and rejected the applicant's action. It admitted that the wording of the pertinent provision was ambiguous. Referring to the leading judgment on the allowance of the Federal Labour Court dated 24 March 1998, it construed the provision as terminating the allowance payments as of 31 December 1991. It argued that the allowance had been paid out of public funds and was an atypical benefit granted by the GDR. Therefore it would have been necessary to rule explicitly that the allowance was to be transferred into the united German legal system. The judgement was served on the applicant on 15 October 1998. The applicant subsequently lodged an appeal on points of law.

On 8 November 1998 the applicant lodged a constitutional complaint of approximately fifty pages with the Federal Constitutional Court. She inter alia complained that the length of the proceedings - which were still pending before the Federal Labour Court - violated Article 6 of the Convention.

On 26 January 1999 the Federal Labour Court rejected the applicant's request for leave to appeal on points of law.

In March 1999 the applicant submitted another fifty pages of observations to the Federal Constitutional Court.

On 2 July 2002 the Federal Constitutional Court delivered a leading decision on the ballet dancers' allowance. It referred to its leading judgment of 28 April 1999, pursuant to which the pension rights acquired in the GDR fell within the scope of Article 14 of the German Basic Law protecting the right to property provided that the German Unification Treaty recognised them as legal claims within the united German legal system. The impugned allowance did accordingly not fall within the scope of Article 14 of the German Basic Law as Article 9 of the German Unification Treaty prescribed that it would not be transferred into the social and labour legislation of the FRG. Furthermore, there had never been a legitimate expectation that the allowance would be transferred into the united German legal system, as in the legal system of the GDR, the allowance had already amounted to a preferential treatment.

On 4 July 2002 the Federal Constitutional Court refused to admit the applicant's constitutional complaint with reference to its leading decision of 2 July 2002. The decision was served on the applicant's lawyer on 3 August 2002.
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001-79427_a8_e1
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CODE
DIRECT
19124/02
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correct
001-79427_a8_e2
001-79427_a8_em2
ORG
NO_MASK
Federal Republic of Germany
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001-79427_a8_e3
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DEM
NO_MASK
German
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001-79427_a8_e4
001-79427_a8_em4
PERSON
DIRECT
Ms Gisela Kirsten
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DATETIME
QUASI
1 May 2002
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PERSON
QUASI
Mr K.H. Christoph
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LOC
NO_MASK
Berlin
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DEM
NO_MASK
German
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PERSON
QUASI
Mrs A. Wittling-Vogel
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ORG
NO_MASK
Ministerialrätin
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ORG
NO_MASK
Federal Ministry of Justice
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DATETIME
QUASI
2 May 2005
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001-79427_a8_e12
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DATETIME
QUASI
1944
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LOC
QUASI
Berlin
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DATETIME
QUASI
1960 to 1979
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insert
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001-79427_a8_em16
DEM
QUASI
ballet dancer
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insert
001-79427_a8_e15
001-79427_a8_em17
ORG
QUASI
Erich-Weinert-Ensemble (EWE)
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LOC
NO_MASK
German Democratic Republic (GDR)
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DATETIME
QUASI
1979
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ORG
QUASI
EWE
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001-79427_a8_em21
QUANTITY
QUASI
588 GDR marks
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001-79427_a8_e20
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DATETIME
QUASI
1 September 1976
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LOC
NO_MASK
GDR
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correct
001-79427_a8_e22
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DEM
NO_MASK
age of 35
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DEM
NO_MASK
15 years
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DEM
QUASI
dancer
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DEM
QUASI
dancer
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ORG
NO_MASK
National Insurance of the GDR (Staatliche Versicherung der DDR)
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LOC
NO_MASK
GDR
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correct
001-79427_a8_e2
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LOC
NO_MASK
Federal Republic of Germany
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correct
001-79427_a8_e26
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LOC
NO_MASK
FRG
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001-79427_a8_e18
001-79427_a8_em32
ORG
NO_MASK
EWE
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001-79427_a8_em33
LOC
NO_MASK
GDR
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001-79427_a8_e27
001-79427_a8_em34
ORG
NO_MASK
Federal Ministry of Defence of the FRG
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001-79427_a8_em35
ORG
NO_MASK
German Marks (DEM)
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001-79427_a8_e29
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DATETIME
QUASI
1 January 1992
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DEM
QUASI
ballet dancers
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DATETIME
QUASI
December 1992
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001-79427_a8_e32
001-79427_a8_em39
ORG
QUASI
Berlin Social Court
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DATETIME
QUASI
24 August 1994
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ORG
NO_MASK
Federal Social Court
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001-79427_a8_e35
001-79427_a8_em42
DATETIME
QUASI
13 January 1995
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001-79427_a8_e32
001-79427_a8_em43
ORG
QUASI
Berlin Social Court
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001-79427_a8_e36
001-79427_a8_em44
ORG
QUASI
Frankfurt/Oder Labour Court
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001-79427_a8_e37
001-79427_a8_em45
DATETIME
QUASI
15 May 1996
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001-79427_a8_e36
001-79427_a8_em46
ORG
QUASI
Frankfurt/Oder Labour Court
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001-79427_a8_e38
001-79427_a8_em47
ORG
NO_MASK
Ministry of Defence
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001-79427_a8_e39
001-79427_a8_em48
QUANTITY
QUASI
DEM 28,224
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001-79427_a8_e40
001-79427_a8_em49
DATETIME
QUASI
January 1996
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001-79427_a8_e41
001-79427_a8_em50
DATETIME
QUASI
31 December 1991
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001-79427_a8_e41
001-79427_a8_em51
DATETIME
QUASI
31 December 1991
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001-79427_a8_e42
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DATETIME
QUASI
13 May 1998
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ORG
QUASI
Brandenburg Regional Labour Court
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001-79427_a8_e36
001-79427_a8_em54
ORG
QUASI
Frankfurt/Oder Labour Court
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001-79427_a8_e44
001-79427_a8_em55
ORG
NO_MASK
Federal Labour Court
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001-79427_a8_e45
001-79427_a8_em56
DATETIME
QUASI
24 March 1998
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001-79427_a8_e41
001-79427_a8_em57
DATETIME
QUASI
31 December 1991
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001-79427_a8_e21
001-79427_a8_em58
LOC
NO_MASK
GDR
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001-79427_a8_e46
001-79427_a8_em59
DATETIME
QUASI
15 October 1998
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001-79427_a8_em60
DATETIME
QUASI
8 November 1998
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001-79427_a8_e48
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ORG
NO_MASK
Federal Constitutional Court
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001-79427_a8_e44
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ORG
QUASI
Federal Labour Court
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001-79427_a8_e49
001-79427_a8_em63
DATETIME
QUASI
26 January 1999
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001-79427_a8_e44
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ORG
QUASI
Federal Labour Court
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001-79427_a8_e50
001-79427_a8_em65
DATETIME
QUASI
March 1999
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001-79427_a8_e48
001-79427_a8_em66
ORG
NO_MASK
Federal Constitutional Court
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001-79427_a8_e51
001-79427_a8_em67
DATETIME
QUASI
2 July 2002
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001-79427_a8_e48
001-79427_a8_em68
ORG
NO_MASK
Federal Constitutional Court
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001-79427_a8_e30
001-79427_a8_em69
DEM
QUASI
ballet dancers
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001-79427_a8_e52
001-79427_a8_em70
DATETIME
QUASI
28 April 1999
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001-79427_a8_em71
LOC
NO_MASK
GDR
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LOC
NO_MASK
FRG
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LOC
NO_MASK
GDR
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001-79427_a8_e53
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DATETIME
QUASI
4 July 2002
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001-79427_a8_e48
001-79427_a8_em75
ORG
NO_MASK
Federal Constitutional Court
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001-79427_a8_e51
001-79427_a8_em76
DATETIME
QUASI
2 July 2002
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DATETIME
QUASI
3 August 2002
Gisela Kirsten
DEU
CHAMBER
Task: Annotate the document to anonymise the following person: Gisela Kirsten