The subject of this monograph is the legal dimension and significance of the concept of freedom. The author seeks to answer what freedom means in a legal sense, how it is articulated, and what form it takes when enforced through legal proceedings. In the first (substantive) part, the author traces the development of the state's defense claim from the late 18th century to the Bonn Basic Law. He places a focus on the constitutional and administrative law of late constitutionalism, which, despite a changed constitutional order, shows significant (positive and negative) repercussions in contemporary law. In parallel, the second (procedural) part examines the judicial enforceability of these individual claims in the context of historical developments, from the old imperial jurisdiction through administrative justice to the beginnings of administrative court jurisdiction.