Research in the WZB Rule of Law Center mainly addresses the function and significance of constitutional standards, norms, procedures and normative supervision on a global, regional, state and sub-state level.

Rule of law rather than the constitutional state is used as our key concept owing to the close historical link to specific issues of the German public law which form part of the latter concept.

The notion of rule of law is more extensive since, firstly, it is applicable regardless of specific national constitutions and, secondly, it is not limited to a certain established relation toward human rights and democracy.

The aim of the WZB Rule of Law Center is to examine the connection between functioning rule of law on the one hand and legitimate political governance on the other, the discovery of forms and conditions of international rule of law promotion and the impact of constitutional structures on the system of international relations.