The 1949 German Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany was heavily influenced by World War II.
The second part of article 26 determines that weapons of war may only be produced and traded with the approval of the federal government.
The Gesetz über die Kontrolle von Kriegswaffen, abbreviated Kriegswaffenkontrollgesetz is the law that article 26 part 2 refers to.
In the Außenwirtschaftsverordnung paragraph 21–6, the Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle (BAFA) got the authority to make a further regulation.
In the "Bekanntmachung über Endverbleibsdokumente nach § 21 Absatz 6 der Außenwirtschaftsverordnung (AWV)" the BAFA stipulates that every arms export requires an End-user certificate which forbids re-export without permission.
[15] Already in April 2021, the federal government had made a design for a new Rüstungsexportkontrollgesetz (Arms Export Control law).
[17][18] Before 2022, Germany had a long-standing policy of not allowing the export of weapons to countries that are involved in an armed conflict.
It is part of a fundamental change in Germany's foreign policy, marked by Olaf Scholz's 27 February 2022 Zeitenwende speech.
Plans are to explicitly prescribe that Germany can help countries that are in armed conflict, based on the values that underpin German foreign policy, the goals of the UN charter, international law, and the fundamental right of self defenses.