Luth Case

The Luth Case was a 1958 decision of Germany's Federal Constitutional Court holding that the basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution, including freedom of expression, are not merely defensive rights against the state but also express an objective order of values that radiates into all areas of law, including private law disputes between citizens. The case arose when film director Veit Harlan sued to stop Erich Luth, a public official, from urging a boycott of Harlan's postwar film; the Constitutional Court held that ordinary civil courts must interpret private law provisions in light of constitutional rights such as free expression. It established the doctrine of the indirect horizontal effect of fundamental rights and is regarded as one of the most influential rulings in German constitutional history.