In January 2002, the new German Prostitution Act came into force. It aims to strengthen the rights of prostitutes with respect to their job in order to protect them from social and legal discrimination. This article deals with the new Act and its consequences for German civil law, labour law, and the law of social insurance. Furthermore, it compares the German Prostitution Act to the new Swedish Act, which allows selling but prohibits purchasing of sexual services. Both acts are based on totally different ideas. Finally, the article illustrates the legal opinion of the European Court of Justice concerning prostitution and concludes by arguing that the German law is in conformity with the EC Treaty and Article 15 of the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations