Policy of Germany

The operation of the German political system is governed by a Constitution called Fundamental law ( Grundgesetz ).

The Germany is a federal République , composed by 16 Länder, whose federal Capitale is Berlin. It is organized according to the principle of Séparation of the capacities and a representative Démocratie with parliamentary Régime. One of the characteristics of the German democracy is the institutionalization of the role of the political parties: to represent the Citizen S and to bring a Political formation to them.

Institutions

Executive power

Federal presidency

Chancellery

The chancellor ( Bundeskanzler ) exerts in fact the essence of the executive power. He is elected in the majority absolute of the members of the Bundestag on a proposal from the federal president, after the conclusion of the negotiations between the political parties. He will fix the main trends of the German policy. So with the first turn the candidate proposed by the president is not elected, the Bundestag can elect a candidate of his choice with absolute majority in the 14 days. If no candidate is elected in this term, there is the last turn: if a candidate receives the absolute majority, the president is obliged to appoint it chancellor; if not, the president can decide in the 7 days or to name chancellor the candidate having received the relative majority of the votes or to dissolve the Bundestag.

The chancellor remains responsible in front of the Bundestag . He proposes to the federal president the federal ministers that this one must name.

The Bundestag lays out only of one possibility of “constructive vote of distrust” ( Konstruktives Misstrauensvotum ), i.e. by electing another chancellor in the majority absolute. Nevertheless, the chancellor always has the right to put a question of confidence. If the Bundestag refuses confidence with the chancellor, the president can dissolve it, on a proposal from the chancellor, in the 21 days, insofar as the Bundestag did not elect another chancellor meanwhile.

The August 25th 2005, the 8 judges of the 2^e senate of the federal constitutional court ratified the vote of car-distrust of Gerhard Schröder while rejecting with 7 votes against 1 the recourse of the green deputy Werner Schulz and the social democrat deputy Jelena Hoffmann. The chancellor has all the capacity to define the governmental crisis which enables him to raise the question of confidence with the goal to propose to the president dissolution. It is not necessary that it already lost a legislative vote with the Bundestag , the danger justified to lose such a vote in future is enough.

Nevertheless, the federal president is obliged to remove any abuse, especially when it is obvious that the parliamentary majority is stable. Moreover, the president has a broad freedom of appreciation if itself regards dissolution as favorable to the regular elections. As dissolution has need for agreement for three bodies constitutional (chancellor, Bundestag , president and second once the chancellor which contresigns the decree of dissolution), the constitutional court is autolimity with a control of obvious abuse.

Legislative power

The Legislative power is exerted by the Bundestag with a more or less important participation of the Bundesrat according to the cases.

This system is sometimes analyzed like bicameral, the Bundestag being then the Lower House and the Bundesrat the Upper House. Others make the point that the Bundesrat cannot be regarded as a parliamentary assembly and that the Bundestag alone is thus the federal Parliament (monocaméral).

The Bundestag

Bundesrat

Legislative procedure

In theory legislative competence belongs to the Länder . The Federal state has only legislative competence in the fields expressly enumerated in the Fundamental law. Nevertheless these competences have actually a predominance on competences of the Länder . There are three categories of federal legislative competences:

the exclusive competences (Article 73 of the Fundamental law) in which it does not remain any competence with the Länder (like foreign policy, nationality, currency, posts and telecommunications);
concurrent competences (Article 74 of the Fundamental law) in which it remains legislative competence with the Länder if there is no federal legislation and the federal legislation is licit only if there is a need for a uniform legislation at the federal level (inter alia the penal civil law and, the social security, the right of the trade, the law the labor, the Social Security and the road traffic);
competences of framework (Article 75 of the Fundamental law) in which the federal legislation can regulate only the principles of the legislation of the Länder (like the right of the public office, the ecology and the right of the universities).

The Länder have almost entirely legislative competence concerning the culture (including the audio-visual one), education and the police force.

The federal legislative power belongs to the Bundestag . In some fields having a special consequence for the Länder , the agreement of the Bundesrat is necessary. In fact in particular the laws regulate not only material law but also the institutions or the administrative procedure at the level of Länder, but also when the tax resources of Länder are affected (it is the case of the majority of the tax laws, because a quota of much of federal taxes goes to the Länder ). If a bill does not need the agreement of the Bundesrat , this one can all the same reject it with the absolute majority (35) of its votes. In this case, so that the bill is adopted, it is necessary that the Bundestag shift the veto for of its members ( majority chancelière ). If the rejection of the Bundesrat is decided with the majority of two thirds (46) of her votes, it is necessary that the Bundestag reverses it with a majority of two thirds of the attending members, but at least absolute majority of her members.

In the event of rejection of a bill by the Bundesrat , a commission of conciliation ( Vermittlungsausschuss ) formed by 16 deputies of the the Bundestag and a representative of each Länder must propose a compromise. If the compromise modifies the bill, this one needs a new agreement of the Bundestag before the Bundesrat can decide.

The Fundamental law of the Federal Republic of Germany does not make it possible to organize federal Référendum but the procedure envisaged in article 29 for the recutting of the Länder implies a consultation of the populations concerned.

Legal system

The high court is the federal constitutional Tribunal ( Bundesverfassungsgericht ) which sits at Karlsruhe. According to article 93 of the Fundamental law it has for principal attributions de :

to judge conformity with the constitution of the laws voted by the Parliament;
to slice the litigations between institutions;
to judge - in last spring - constitutionality of the administrative decisions;
to pronounce the prohibition of a political party.

The other courses of importance are:

the federal court of justice ( Bundesgerichtshof ), which is more the high authority in the legal process. The federal courts ( Bundesgerichte ) have as an attribution to standardize the application of the laws by Länder and to judge on the litigations concerning the course of the legal procedure. The court has its seat in Karlsruhe, but the 5th penal senate with Leipzig. It is expected that one day all the penal senates reside at Lepizig.
the federal Administrative court ( Bundesverwaltungsgericht ) in Leipzig;
federal tax Court ( Bundesfinanzhof ) with Munich;
the federal conciliation board Court ( Bundesarbeitsgericht ) with Erfurt;
the federal social Court ( Bundessozialgericht ) with Kassel.

Federalism

One of the principles of all the German constitutions (except those of the Democratic republic of Germany of 1968 and 1974) is the federalism. Nevertheless between 1933 and 1945 and in GDR since 1952/1958 the federalism was removed. After the Second world war, Länder were restored before the foundation of the Federal state.

Article 79 subparagraph 3 of the fundamental law establishes even an eternal guarantee prohibiting any change of constitution abrogeant the federalism or the participation of Länder in the federal legislation. The base of the federalism is that the exercise of the official capacities and the achievement of the missions of the State concern Länder. The federal institutions have only the capacities which the constitution assigns to them.

Each Land has its own constitution with its individualities, a Parliament, a government and (except the Schleswig-Holstein) a Constitutional court.

Important a programme of reform of the federalism ( Föderalismusreform ) was launched by two commissions, one in 1991-1992, then in 2003-2004, directed by Franz Müntefering and Edmund Stoiber. A transformation of the constitution requiring into Germany a majority of two thirds, important divergences between SPD and the CDU on the contents of these reforms have for the moment empéché their result.

Legislative power

The legislative power belongs to Länder when the legislative competence of the Federal state is not expressly regulated by the Fundamental law. In theory, any valid federal standard takes precedence nevertheless over a contrary standard of a Land. If this principle remains valid, the constitutional reform of October 27th, 1994, coming into effect on November 15th, 1994, reinforced the federalism by strictly limiting the exercise of concurrent federal legislative competence to the cases where it is essential. Before this reform, it was enough that the federal legislation appears necessary. Thus, the Federal state can exert this concurrent competence only if one different legislation according to Länder is not acceptable and that those are unable to coordinate their legislation. The reform also completely subjected the requirement of federal legislation to the recourse to the constitutional Court. As the Court already judged it twice, it is not enough any more that the federal institutions affirm the need for intervening. For example, he does not see any more the requirement of a uniformity of the right of closing of the stores so that a reform of the federal law in this field where it remains in force by transitory right is subjected to the legislation of Länder.

Remain legislative competence of Länder, inter alia:

the police force
the general law and order
schools and universities
culture and bank holidays
relations between State and Églises
communal right
the radio and television
right relating to constructions
protection of the monuments
road right (except the federal circulation and road main roads)

On the other hand, Länder do not have almost any more competence as regards civil law, penal, commercial and of the legal procedure, so much the federal legislation is important in this field.

Executive power

The administration and the execution even of the federal laws are allotted to the authorities of Länder (what includes/understands the capacities subordinates like the communes). A federal administration exists only in limited fields:

diplomatic service
federal tax authorities
river main roads
navigation
military service
administration of the air traffic
railroads
the protection of the borders according to the federal legislation
the law and order, general informations, the criminal police force and collection of documents, according to the federal legislation of the central authorities, only to protect the constitution and the country from carried out on the federal territory which, by the use of the force or preparations in this direction, endanger the interests external of the Federal Republic of Germany
the institution by the law higher authorities in the fields which raise of the federal legislation (it is only exceptionally that lower authorities federal additional can be created).

A good part of the administration is carried out by the communes and districts ( Kreise ) which are subjected to the control of Länder.

Judicial power

Whereas the legal procedure and the determination of the types of jurisdictions to be envisaged are almost completely regulated by federal laws, the institution of the courts, the fixing of their springs and the nomination judges belongs to Länder. Only the courses of last authority are federal (as well as a lower court as regards intellectual property and of small the jurisdiction disciplinary). A call to the federal Administrative court is open only if the interpretation of the federal legislation is concerned. There exists thus, among the courts of Länder:

ordinary jurisdictions: the courses of call ( Oberlandesgerichte - that of Berlin being called Kammergericht , court of room, for historical reasons), the courts regional ( Landgerichte ) and the Amtsgerichte which are often translated into French by magistrates' court (literal translation are court of baillage and it is this term which was systematically employed after 1918 in Alsace-Lorraine and in the Cantons of the east in Belgium - a more modern translation could be cantonal court )
administrative jurisdictions: the higher administrative courts ( Oberverwaltungsgerichte ) which, for historical reasons in Bade-Wurttemberg, Bavaria and Hesse are named Administrative courts ( Verwaltungsgerichtshöfe ) and the administrative courts ( Verwaltungsgerichte )
tax jurisdictions: tax courts ( Finanzgerichte )
jurisdictions of work regional courts of work ( Landesarbeitsgerichte ) and courts of work ( Arbeitsgerichte )
social jurisdictions: regional social courts ( Landessozialgerichte ) and social courts ( Sozialgerichte )

Political parties

Parties represented with the the Bundestag

SPD - Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (Left social democrat), social democrats
CDU - Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (Union of the Christian Democrats), Christian-Democrats
CSU - Christlich Soziale Union (Union of the social Christians), Christian-Democrats Bavarian
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (Alliance 90/les Green), ecologists
FDP - Freie Demokratische Partei (free Democratic party), liberal
Die Linke fusion of the communist ex- of the PDS and ex- social democrats of WASG.

External bonds

Franco-German site

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