Johannes Masing (born 9 January 1959 in
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
) is a German
jurisprudent
Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...
,
public law
Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a State (polity), state, between Separation of powers, different branches of governments, as well as relationship ...
and former
judge of the
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its inc ...
.
Career
Between 1979 and 1986, Masing studied law and philosophy at the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württe ...
as well as Piano at the
Freiburg Conservatory of Music (Music teacher diploma) and the
State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart
The State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart is a professional school for musicians and performing artists in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1857, it is one of the oldest schools of its kind in Germany.
History
The school was f ...
(Artistic final exam).
In 2002, Masing was a visiting scholar at the
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MC ...
, Ann Arbor/USA. Since 2007, he has been a full professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Freiburg.
A nominee of the
Social Democratic Party of Germany, on 15 February 2008 he was elected to succeed
Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem
Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem (born March 4, 1940 in Hannover) is a German legal scholar and a former justice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany.
Career
Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem was born into a family of teachers. He had four siblings, one of ...
as sitting Justice of the
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its inc ...
in the court's first senate. He was inaugurated on 2 April 2008 and is chiefly responsible for constitutional complaints concerning data protection, privacy and the right to demonstrate.
In a unanimous 2014 decision by the eight-judge First Senate on abolishing a law allowing companies to be passed from generation to generation tax free, Masing – alongside fellow members
Reinhard Gaier and
Susanne Baer – issued a supplementary decision saying the judgment should have included wording to ensure that revised tax rules did not undercut the basic purpose of inheritance law, which was to hinder excessive concentration of wealth among a privileged few: “The inheritance tax serves not only to generate tax revenue. Rather it is also an instrument of the state to hinder disproportionate accumulation of wealth from generation to generation solely as a result of origin or personal connection.”
Other activities
*
German Academic Scholarship Foundation
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
** ...
, Board of Trustees
*
Schwetzingen Festival
The Schwetzingen Festival (German: Schwetzinger Festspiele, now Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele) is an early summer festival of opera and other classical music presented each year from May to early June in Schwetzingen, Germany.
In 1952, the broadca ...
, Member of the Board of Trustees
Recognition
*2008 – Gay-Lussac-Humboldt Prize for Franco-German Research Cooperation
See also
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its inc ...
External links
Bundesverfassungsgericht -- Justice Masings's website
References
1959 births
Living people
21st-century German judges
German legal scholars
People from Wiesbaden
Justices of the Federal Constitutional Court
{{Germany-law-bio-stub