The success of the bond-purchase program of the European Central Bank will have no impact on the ruling whether the measure was constitutional or not, the German Constitutional Court said on Tuesday.
Germany's highest court in Karlsruhe is holding a two-day hearing to decide whether the ECB's bond buying program called the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) violates the German law.
Court President Andreas Vosskuhle said the success of the scheme plays "no role" on deciding its constitutionality.
Ahead of the hearing, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the government has no doubt the ECB is acting within its mandate. He reiterated this in his testimony in the court today.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin that her government will argue that the European Stability Mechanism is important and that the ECB is doing what is needed to stabilize the euro.
ECB Chief Mario Draghi had called the OMT the "probably the most successful monetary policy measure undertaken in recent time".
One year since the announcement of bond purchases, spreads in sovereign debt markets have fallen substantially, Draghi recently said in Shanghai. He added that the OMT actually reduced the exposure of German taxpayers to risks on the ECB's balance sheet.
Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, who opposes the bond buying program, is also attending the court hearing. ECB Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen will testify later today in support of the OMT.
The OMT was challenged in the court by German lawmaker Peter Gauweiler and other politicians.
Although the court has no jurisdiction over the ECB, ruling that the OMT is incompatible with German law could create problems in future funding.
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