Abstract

In his Theory of Constitutional Rights, Robert Alexy assumes that any case of conflicting principles can be solved by rational means through the concept of balancing. The foundation of this concept are the principles of balancing defined by Alexy. He illustrates the process of balancing with the aid of a formula, the so-called weight formula. Using a specifically developed scale, the individual results of the balancing process are converted into figures which will then be inserted into the formula. The numeric value resulting herefrom reflects the overall result of the balancing process. Thomas Riehm critically examines this method and reaches the conclusion that not only the scale formation is non-transparent but that in addition, this method violates the principles of commutativity and linearity and mathematises the process of balancing. The goal of this paper is to analyse the individual steps of the scale formation as well as the function of the scale and to check for contradictions with regard to the mathematical rules mentioned above. In this connection, Riehm’s critical findings could not be confirmed.