[en] In the Federal Republic of Germany, construction and commissioning of nuclear power plants is greatly aggravated by delays and legal insecurities in the licensing procedures. One of the major reasons for this situation is the fact that legislation frequently fails to formulate clearly its political intentions, using instead uncertain legal terms. As a consequence, administration and, above all, courts of law must provide the required concretization. This compels courts of law to rule in scientific and technical matters, which should not be for them to decide. A number of proposals are made to remedy the situation, which mainly advocate the promulgation of concretizing legal ordinances, the legally binding nature of certain technical rules, precise definition of judicial control over administrative decisions, and reasonable rationalization of licensing procedures. This could revive investments in the energy sector without detracting from the legal protection of the public as guaranteed in the Constitution. (orig.)