Anspruchsnormen

Anspruchsnormen are normative provisions that create or recognize subjective rights (Ansprüche) for individuals within a legal order. They grant a person the authority to demand a specific performance, remedy, or other legal relief from another party, and they bind the addressee to comply with the claimed entitlement.

In private and public law, Anspruchsnormen function as the basis for private interests and claims against others or against the state. They determine what a rights holder may demand and under what conditions. The content of a claim is typically the right to a particular performance or remedy, such as the transfer of ownership, payment of a price, damages, or restitution. The corresponding duty rests with the claimant’s counterpart, who is required to fulfill the performance or remedy specified by the norm.

The formation of an entitlement under Anspruchsnormen usually follows a structure: a factual or legal Tatbestand (fact pattern) that satisfies the norm, and the Rechtsfolge (legal consequence) that creates the specific claim. Claims can be subject to defenses, limitations, and time limits, such as prescription or impediments to enforcement, which may extinguish or restrict the entitlement.

Common domains for Anspruchsnormen include contract law (Vertragliche Anspruchsnormen) and tort or restitution law (Schadensersatz- und Bereicherungsansprüche). They can also appear in administrative and public-law contexts where individuals have rights to certain services or remedies from authorities.

The concept plays a central role in legal theory as the form by which subjective rights are constituted within a normative system. It is often contrasted with Schutznormen, which regulate behavior to protect broader interests without creating private entitlement.