Who Files a Constitutional Complaint for Equality?

Although the constitutional complaint is a particularly important procedure of the German Federal Constitutional Court, we know very little about who uses this instrument and for what purpose. This paper asks whether there are gender differences in constitutional complaints. How many constitutional complaints are filed by women, men and transsexuals? Does gender influence the outcome of the decision? And what constitutional rights do these groups invoke? As the German Basic Law recognizes both civil liberties and equality rights, we assume that there are also gender differences in this respect: While men fight for (their) freedom, women fight for equality? Of particular importance is the question of the role played by the use of the anti-discrimination clause of the German Basic Law: Do women sue for gender equality? The paper will use quantitative methods to analyze all published constitutional complaints, which will be complemented by qualitative insights.