The decision by the Federal Constitutional Court of 9th March 1994 set new standards for the prosecution of personal use offences. The Court affirmed that the penalty-enforced prohibition of cannabis is constitutional. It stated that, while the Narcotics Act did not infringe the principles of proportionality, of equality and personal freedom, the prosecution authorities of the Federal Laender should observe the "ban on excessive punishment" enshrined in the German Basic Law in case of minor offences involving the personal use of cannabis; furthermore, it requested the Federal Laender to ensure a "basically uniform practice of application" and, as a rule, to refrain from prosecution if the conditions set out in section 31a of the Narcotics Act apply. With its decisions of 29th June 2004 (file no: Az: BVerfG, 2BvL8/02) and 30th June 2005 (Az: BVerfG, 2BvR1772/02), the Federal Constitutional Court reaffirmed its earlier decisions on criminal liability.