전후 서독의 양심적 병역거부에 대한 논의

The strong antimilitarismwhich was strongly prevalent in postwar Germany transformed into the demand of democratization for themilitary.The article 4 of theGermanBasicLawwhich regulated the conscientious objectionwas one of the results of this tendency. Through this article, Germany belongs to one of the earliest countrieswhich introduced the conscientious objection.The enactment of conscientious objection inGermanywas prior even to theGerman conscription act itself which was established in 1956. Nevertheless,the enactment ofArticle 4 inBasicLawdidn’t bring the conflict regarding conscientious objection to an end, but became the starting point of a full-blown dispute.What is the legal definition of conscientiousness?What can be themeaningful reason for conscientious objection?Can the political reason as well as religious reason be accepted?Howcan the administrative servant or the court decide if the applicant for the conscientious objector would be against the military conscription,not because of their personal interest,but purely because of his conscientiousness,even though their excuse alonewould be acceptable?These controversial questions reflected the different concepts regarding individual freedom, significance of equality, the duty as a citizen, and the importance of national security. The issue of conscientious objectionwastreatedat firstontheadministrativelevel, that is,thePrufungsausschuss furKriegsdienstverweigerer ̈ ̈ andPruf̈ ungskammer,and subsequently on the legal level, namely Landesverwaltungsgerichts and Bundesverwaltungsgerichts. This article tries to show how these different notions have collidedwith and adapted to each other in postwarGerman society by analyzing theway inwhich the issue of conscientious objectionwas treated on the administrative level as well as legal level.