Unrechtsstaat
The term Unrechtsstaat is a pejorative used to refer to a state that is not a Rechtsstaat, or a constitutional state in which the exercise of governmental power is not constrained by the law.[1] It is used not only as a jurisprudential term but also as a political one.[2]
Connotations
It is the opinion of Horst Sendler that an Unrechtsstaat is characterized by a lack of striving for rights and an overall failure to achieve them.[3] At the same time, individual violations of law and constitution do not make a state an Unrechtsstaat, because such violations also occur in a Rechtsstaat.[3] Also, a state should not necessarily be considered an "Unrechtsstaat," even if it does not correspond with the model of a classical civil Rechtsstaat and in particular the German concept of a Rechtsstaat.[4] On the other hand, the term "Unrechtsstaat" does not exclude the possibility of instances in which such a state has areas where qualities characteristic of a Rechtsstaat are dominant and where justices is realized in practice.[5] In contrast to this notion of an Unrechtsstaat, Gerd Roellecke holds that the differentiating quality of an Unrechtsstaat is that it does not expect the equality of all people. In contrast with historical "Nichtrechtstaaten" (non-Rechstaaten), Unrechtstaaten have the capacity to be Rechstaaten after a period of historical development.[6]