Germany's constitutional court has begun hearing a legal challenge to German contributions to the eurozone bailouts for Ireland, Greece and Portugal.
The case was taken by six eurosceptic plaintiffs.
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who is attending the hearing, said he was certain that aid payments had not violated German or European law.
Legal experts said the court was unlikely to block Germany's participation in bailouts altogether, or force the government to withdraw its commitments to current rescue plans.
However, they said they expected the court to impose conditions making it harder for the government to provide fresh aid.
