"Solange II" is the common name for the
German Federal Constitutional Court's decision in
Wünsche Handelsgesellschaft (BvR 2, 197/83; 1987 3 CMLR 225), decided on October 22,
1986.
The decision contended that West German courts did not need to review the legislation of the European Community, as long as ("solange") the EC treaties guaranteed the same fundamental rights as the German constitution. This was a partial reversal on the stance taken in the Solange I case, which gave Germany the authority to question all Community law against the framework of the constitution.
Solange II entrusted the European Court of Justice to strike down any laws consistent with the fundamental rights of the EC, but retained the German courts' authority to interpret new primary law of the Community.