"Constitutions tend to be more than symbols; in the case of fundamental rights, they also have to provide the legal means for the balancing of conflicting interests. In Community law, it is up to the European Court of Justice to outline and define certain social rights, as a result of its role in protecting the fundamental freedoms, and even in the absence of a binding constitution or binding charter of human rights in Community law. This has become patent in recent years – and this is where the question of compatibility and equivalence of Community social rights and national social rights arises. The following paper will try to give an idea of the questions to be faced from a German comparatist's perspective."

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