How many seats are there in the German parliament? Report: German Parliament. Bundestag and Bundesrat in Germany: Formation and competence

70. Bundestag and Bundesrat of Germany: order of formation, internal organization, competence.

The Bundestag is the legislative body of the Federation; the lower house of parliament (the Germans do not consider the Bundesrat to be a parliament. According to Russian doctrine, the Bundesrat is one of the chambers of parliament). He is a representative of the German people.

Formation order

Deputies to the Bundestag are elected on the basis of universal, equal, direct, free elections by secret ballot for a period of 4 years. The Federal Law of Germany does not provide for electoral provisions. There is the Electoral System Law (Wahlgesetz) of 1956, as amended in 1975. The right to vote is granted to citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany over 18 years of age who have lived in the state for at least 3 months. A person over 18 years of age, a German citizen for at least 1 year, and not deprived of active voting rights, can be elected.

The number of deputies in the Bundestag has been determined - 656. However, in fact there are always more of them (now there are 672). The deputy mandate is free, deputies have immunity and indemnity.

There is a so-called “personalized proportional” voting system, which is similar to the Russian one:

half of the deputies (i.e. 328) are elected in electoral districts with 1 deputy from each district;

the other half - according to the land lists of parties (and in our case, according to the federal list).

The election system is mixed. In electoral districts, the candidate who received more votes than others is considered elected (majority system of relative majority).

In multi-member districts there is a proportional system. Since 1985, the Hare-Niemeyer system has been used (until 1985, the Dont system was used). All “second” votes cast for the party list are multiplied by the number of seats to be distributed in parliament and divided by the total number of votes cast for all party lists. The resulting integer is the number of seats in parliament. The remaining places are distributed according to the principle of the largest remainder, and in case of equality of remainders - by lot.

The distribution of mandates involves parties that have received at least 5% of the votes nationwide or whose candidates have won in at least 3 electoral districts.

Organization of the Bundestag

The activities of the chamber are organized by the President of the Bundestag, who is elected from among the deputies, usually from the largest parties. The president is elected for the entire term of the legislature; he can neither be recalled nor re-elected. The president has the same number of secretaries according to the number of factions represented in the Bundestag. The president, his deputies and secretaries form the presidium of the chamber - as a collegial body, it has no powers. On the contrary, the Council of Elders is an important organ of the Bundestag. It consists of the president, his deputies and 24 members appointed by parliamentary factions, in proportion to their number. The Council agrees on the number of committees and their personal composition, coordinates the agenda, agrees on the parliamentary budget, expenses allocated for parliament, and makes decisions on its internal affairs.

Factions unite deputies belonging to the same party. Within the CDU/CSU faction, the CSU enjoys independence. A faction is a group of deputies that comprises more than 5% of the total number of deputies. Factions are not official bodies of the Bundestag, but they prejudge the outcome of the vote. The party faction is led by a board, which includes the chairman of the faction, his deputies and secretaries, as well as other members. Working groups are also being formed on the main directions of domestic and foreign policy.

Committees of the Bundestag can be special, sectoral, or investigative.

Industry:

mandatory (those provided for by the OZ: EU affairs, foreign affairs, defense);

optional (their number varies - 23 now).

Functions of the Bundestag

development of legislation;

approval of the federal budget;

election of the Federal Chancellor;

parliamentary control over the activities of the Federal Government;

ratification of international treaties;

making decisions on declaring the state of defense of Germany, etc.

The most important function is legislation. In Germany, legislative initiative is possessed by the Government (80%), members of the Bundestag and Bundesrat. All bills are submitted to the Bundestag. But the Government first sends all bills to the Bundesrat, which gives opinions. If the bill comes from the Bundesrat, it is sent to the Government, which gives an opinion and then transmits it to the Bundestag.

All laws are considered by the Bundestag in 3 readings.

1st reading - information about the bill, only the general principles of the bill are discussed, then it is transferred to committees. But the Bundestag can set a deadline for the 2nd reading of the bill without sending it to committees. 2nd reading - the edition proposed by the committee is discussed. Debates take place and changes are made. Each amendment is voted on. 3rd reading - amendments can be made only on behalf of factions, then a vote is taken on the bill as a whole.

German state law distinguishes the following types of laws:

constitutional - adopted by a qualified majority in both chambers;

“federal” - adopted by a simple majority of the Bundestag with the obligatory consent of the Bundesrat;

and ordinary laws - are adopted only by the Bundestag, but can be protested by the Bundesrat.

The most important powers include approval of the federal budget. The project is being introduced by the federal government. The Bundestag can propose amendments, but if they involve increased costs or new expenses, the consent of the Government is required.

Parliamentary control over the activities of the Government is limited. The Bundestag and its committees may require the presence of members of the Government at their meetings; deputies may ask questions to the Chancellors and Ministers, who are required to give an oral answer. For this purpose, up to 3 hours are allocated weekly during the parliamentary session. Groups of deputies can make large (debates are provided for the answer to them) and small requests, to which a written response must be given within 14 days.

Bundesrat

Formation

According to German legal doctrine, the Bundesrat is a federal body through which the German states participate in the exercise of legislative and executive power, as well as in EU affairs (Article 50). The Bundesrat is not an elected body (ie not the second chamber of parliament). The Bundesrat includes members of the State Governments. Each land has at least 3 votes:

if the population of the earth exceeds 2 million, then the earth has 4 votes;

On January 1, 1999, there were 69 seats in the Bundesrat. Each state “sends” as many members to the Bundesrat as it has votes. Members of the Bundesrat are appointed and recalled by the state governments. Membership of the Bundesrat cannot be combined with a parliamentary mandate in the Bundestag.

The Bundesrat has no fixed term of office and cannot be dissolved. Its composition changes depending on the elections to the Landtags of the states. Party composition does not matter, factions are not formed, but groups of Bundesrat members from states with the same party are blocked among themselves. Votes of the land can only be cast in concert, as a single list.

Organization

The Bundesrat elects a chairman for a term of 1 year, he convenes meetings, sets the agenda, leads debates, and decides on voting. The Chairman has administrative power in the Bundesrat building. He replaces the Federal President if he is temporarily unable to perform his functions.

There are permanent committees, which include one representative from the land or land officials.

Authority

The competence of the Bundesrat is legislation, administration, EU affairs.

The participation of the Bundesrat in legislative activities is not always mandatory. The Bundesrat is obliged to participate in the adoption of all constitutional and federal laws. In relation to ordinary laws, he has the right of protest.

Under certain circumstances, the Bundesrat may become the sole legislative body and thereby replace the Bundestag when, at the request of the government, the Federal President introduces a state of legislative necessity (Article 81). This condition is established for a certain period, usually no more than 6 months.

The Bundesrat has a number of powers in the federal administration. Many regulations of the Federal Government require the consent of the Bundesrat; it is obliged to keep the Bundesrat informed of current affairs. Along with the government, the Bundesrat participates in federal supervision of the states.

On issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the EU, the Bundesrat can create a European Chamber, the decisions of which will be equivalent to the decisions of the Bundesrat.

During a “state of emergency,” a special body - a joint committee - can replace parliament. The joint committee consists of 48 members (2/3 from the Bundestag and 1/3 from the Bundesrat), it can exercise all the rights of the parliament, except for the repeal or amendment of the OZ.

The elections will begin on Sunday with the opening of polling stations across the country at 08.00 (10.00 Moscow time). Simultaneously with the federal one, two regional campaigns will be held in the country - elections of deputies to the state parliaments of Brandenburg and Schleswig-Holstein.

The Bundestag of Germany - the German parliament - is the highest legislative body of the country. The activities of the Bundestag are regulated by articles 38-49 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, adopted on May 23, 1949. According to the Constitution, the Bundestag passes laws, ratifies international treaties, elects the Federal Chancellor and federal judges, controls the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers, approves the federal budget, and decides on the declaration of the state of defense.

The Bundestag is elected for a term of 4 years by universal, direct, free and equal elections by secret ballot by persons over 18 years of age. A person who has been a German citizen for at least a year and has reached the age of majority (18 years) on election day has the right to be elected.

In elections to the Bundestag, a mixed electoral system is used: half of the total number of deputies is elected in single-member electoral districts using a majoritarian electoral system of a relative majority, the other half in multi-member electoral districts using a proportional system through state party lists. In some cases, it is possible to provide deputies with additional mandates.

According to Article 39 of the German Constitution, new elections are held no earlier than 45 and no later than 47 months after the start of the legislature (term of office). In order to participate in the distribution of mandates, a party must receive at least 5 percent of the votes for the party list in Germany as a whole or have at least three deputies in single-member constituencies throughout the country.

The parties represented in the Bundestag create parliamentary factions. A faction can be formed by a group of deputies numbering at least 5 percent of the total number of the Bundestag. Each faction of the Bundestag elects a board: a chairman, his deputies, as well as organizing secretaries.

At the proposal of the parliamentary factions, the President of the Bundestag and vice-presidents are elected at the first plenary session of the Bundestag. By tradition, the president is elected from among the deputies of the largest faction.

The right of legislative initiative in Germany is vested in the federal government, the Bundesrat, factions of the Bundestag, as well as individual groups of deputies. On average, during the legislative period, the Bundestag discusses about 500 bills.

To develop bills, standing committees are created in the Bundestag. The committees study bills submitted to the Bundestag and give opinions on them. If necessary, for the purpose of more detailed discussion of any issue, special committees can be created, and within the framework of Bundestag committees, subcommittees can be created. Members of the Finance Committee participate in the discussion of bills in all other committees.

For a more thorough study by deputies of issues brought up for discussion in the Bundestag, “hearings” are held with the participation of specialists and representatives of interested parties, and “large” and “small” requests to the government take place. At regular meetings between deputies and government representatives (the so-called “question hour” or “current hour”), members of the Bundestag have the opportunity to find out the opinions of cabinet members on individual current issues.

The latest innovation in this area is to organize a survey of opinions of government members after a cabinet meeting, when deputies have the right to ask questions on the agenda of the government meeting for half an hour.

Combining the posts of a member of the Bundestag and the government is allowed.

Main political parties of Germany:

Christian Democratic Union (CDU) And Christian Social Union (CSU)- formally they are independent parties, but they act in a close bloc and form a single faction in the Bundestag. Created in 1945

Was in power from the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany until 1969 and in 1982-1998. Since October 1998 - in opposition, since November 2005 - again in power in a “grand coalition” with the SPD.

The social base of the CDU is entrepreneurs, bureaucrats, peasants, and religiously minded workers. Relies on the support of the church, primarily the Catholic one.

In terms of political goals, the CSU is a party related to the CDU, however, on a number of issues it takes more conservative positions.

Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) arose in 1875, was dissolved by the fascist government in 1933, resumed its activities in Germany in 1946. The largest party in Germany, the number of members of the SPD is about 600 thousand people.

The SPD stands for the preservation of private property and free enterprise, and aims to ensure “class peace” in society, reconciling the interests of labor and capital. In 1998-2005 was in power in a coalition with the Union 90/Greens party.

Free Democratic Party (FDP)- liberal party, founded in 1948.

Expresses the interests of some medium-sized and small entrepreneurs, doctors, employees, officials and members of the liberal professions.

In 1949-1956, 1961-1966. and since 1982 was part of the government coalition with the CDU/CSU, in 1969-1982. - with the SPD.

Party "Union 90/Greens" created in April 1993 after the unification of the West German “Greens” with the human rights movement from the former GDR “Union 90”. In 1998-2005 was in power in a coalition with the SPD. Since November 2005 - in opposition.

Left Party (Die Linke)- emerged in July 2005 on the eve of the general elections as a result of the unification of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the left-wing social group that emerged from the SPD (Party of Labor and Social Justice). In the elections of September 18, 2005, she overcame the 5% barrier and entered the Bundestag.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan

University of World Economy and Diplomacy

UNESCO Department

Course work

German Parliament

Performed: Niyazmatova N.

Accepted: Khamidova A.

Tashkent-2010

Introduction

The Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949. In three occupation zones (in the zone of influence of the United States, France and Great Britain), legislation was adopted on the entry of German lands into a single state - the Federal Republic of Germany. It was created as a democratic state, and, therefore, the adoption of a constitution was required.

Taking into account the conditions in which the Federal Republic of Germany was created, a constitutional document was adopted, which received not the traditional name “Constitution”, but “Basic Law”. It was considered appropriate to use just such a name, designed to emphasize the temporary nature of the document. However, having entered into force on May 24, 1949, the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany is still in force today. Over the years, numerous changes have been made to it, the main of which are related to the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR (German Democratic Republic) and the entry of the Federal Republic of Germany into the European Union.

The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany was adopted by the parliamentary council (elected by the Landtags of the West German states by 65 deputies representing the main political parties.

The first section of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany examines fundamental human rights and freedoms.

The second section of the Basic Law defines the fundamentals of the country's political system, such as: the basis for building a system of government bodies is the principle of separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial; Legislative power in the country is exercised by a unicameral parliament (Bundestag) and a special body of representation of the states (Bundesrat), etc.

In accordance with the topic of this coursework, we will consider the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany. Also, I want to note what caused my interest in this particular topic. The legislative branch of Germany, in my opinion, is unique, because in addition to the unicameral parliament, there is a body for the representation of lands, which at first glance is similar to the Senate of the Republic of Uzbekistan, but upon further study, it becomes clear that this is not so.

Chapter 1. Concept and structure of parliament

According to the meaning of the Basic Law and according to the theoretical concepts of German scientists, the parliament in the country is unicameral; it is the Bundestag, which carries out legislative and other activities. “The Bundestag,” write the German scientists G. Klein and W. Zee, “is the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany. The decisions he makes come from the people." The Bundesrat, through which the subjects of the federation participate in legislation and government of the country, is, according to a number of German scientific theorists, a body of the “supreme bureaucracy of the states” and is not considered either in the basic law or in scientific works as the second chamber of parliament. However, a number of German scientists, and not without good reason, believe that the parliament in Germany consists of two chambers - the Bundestag (upper) and the Bundesrat (lower), which do not have equal status; the latter circumstance is expressed in the order of formation of chambers, terms of office, scope of powers, etc.

I am of the same opinion as the German scientists G. Klein and W. Zee, i.e. The German parliament is unicameral, consisting of one chamber of the Bundestag, and the Bundesrat is the body representing the states, which has less legislative power than the Bundestag.

In the Federal Republic, the prevailing version is about a weak parliament, i.e. if we proceed from the fact that the Bundestag, as the highest representative body of the German people, is obliged to perform government functions, then from this point of view it is weak. However, if we consider the Bundestag to be a parliament (in comparison, for example, with the British House of Commons), which is called upon to carry out its main function - legislative - independently of the executive branch, then here it is strong. And yet, if we compare theoretical considerations with facts, the position of the Bundestag in the German constitutional system looks relatively weak, according to many political scientists in the country.

During the time of the Kaiser's Germany, for example, parliaments performed only legislative functions and had virtually no influence on the formation of the government and its policies. And the parliament of the Weimar Republic, on the contrary, took part in the formation of the government, and depended on it. However, he still failed to ensure the stability of the government. Here the culprit was party fragmentation. Therefore, since 1930, due to the inability to constructively cooperate, he lost the competence of legislation.

In subsequent decades, when preparing a new constitution, based on the negative experience of previous times, the government formed by the parliament had greater independence, and the parliament itself became stronger due to the stability of the party system.

The parliamentary system of the Federal Republic is currently structured in such a way that it allows the formation of a clear majority to elect the Federal Chancellor and to support his government. And the government retains its position throughout the entire four-year term of parliament.

However, in the Bundestag, as a rule, there is both a parliamentary government majority, which supports the government's policies and its program, and a parliamentary opposition, which controls and criticizes the government. But if the balance of power is equalized, then a parliamentary crisis ensues. This situation arose in Germany in 1972, when government and opposition parties appeared to be equally strong for a short time. At this point, the government was practically no longer able to implement its legislative program. And only new early elections again created a convincing majority for the government and parliamentary stability was soon restored.

1.1 Bundestag. Formation and composition of members

Consists of 598 deputies. Elected by the people of Germany for a term of four years (Article 39 of the Basic Law). Deputies are elected through universal, direct, free, equal and secret elections (Article 38 of the Basic Law). Thus, deputies are elected according to a mixed, majority-proportional system, i.e. half of the deputies are elected in majoritarian single-member districts, and half are elected according to a proportional system in land territorial districts (according to land party lists); Only parties that have overcome the 5 percent barrier are allowed to distribute mandates according to party lists (this is so as not to complicate the picture of the majority due to small and very small parties, which does not allow these parties to enter parliament) on a national scale.

The Bundestag elects its chairman (literally president). He carries out administrative activities in the building of the Bundestag, the services of this body are subordinate to him, he has “police power” in it, without his permission a search cannot be carried out in the premises, as well as other investigative actions (Article 40 of the Basic Law). The President of the Bundestag is assisted by deputies elected by the chamber. The chairman and deputies form the presidium of the chamber. The secretaries of the Bundestag also belong to its leadership, but are mainly responsible for organizational issues related to office work.

Party factions are created in the Bundestag (a faction is formed if the party has at least 5% of the members of the Bundestag). Their leadership participates in the formation of Bundestag bodies, including the creation of specialized standing committees (commissions) and the determination of their chairmen. The chairman of the chamber, his deputy, as well as 23 representatives of factions in proportion to their number form the council of elders. It adopts the agenda based on unanimity (if this is not the case, the issue is submitted to a plenary session), distributes deputies to standing committees, and resolves procedural issues. In necessary cases, various temporary commissions are created - investigative, audit, etc. (Article 45-a, 45-b, 45-c of the Basic Law).

The Bundestag adopts its rules of procedure. The current regulations of 1952, as amended in 1986, with subsequent amendments and additions, regulated in detail the issues of elections of the chairman, his deputies and secretaries, the activities of the governing bodies of the Bundestag, the organization of factions and groups of deputies, the rights and duties of deputies, the activities of the Bundestag, the organization and activities of committees The Bundestag and other bodies created by it, the legislative process and a number of others.

Sessions of the Bundestag are open; by a decision of a majority of 2/3 of deputies they can be declared closed. Decisions are made by a majority of the deputies present. A law amending the Basic Law requires the consent of 2/3 of the deputies of the Bundestag and 2/3 of the votes of the Bundesrat (Article 42 of the Basic Law).

In no case may a member be subject to judicial or administrative prosecution or otherwise held accountable outside the Bundestag for voting or speaking in the Bundestag or on one of its committees (this does not apply to defamatory insults).

Bringing a deputy to justice or arrest is possible only with the consent of the Bundestag, with the exception of cases of detention during the commission of an act or during the next day, etc.

Deputies are prohibited from combining activities in the Bundestag with other positions or holding leadership positions in private companies.

Tasks of the Bundestag

An important task of parliament, as the Germans themselves understand, along with its legislative function, is control over the government. However, there is no clear understanding of the very essence of this control and what this control can mean in political practice. And in fact the fact is that real control over the government is possible only within very narrow limits. The opposition, for example, does not have the majority that can defeat the government. And the parliamentary majority, on the contrary, although it could impose its will on the government, is not interested in this, because its goals are more identical to the goals of the government and direct influence and participation in power is much more important than moving away from the government and controlling its activities. Therefore, only the opposition is interested in controlling the government, which does not have the power to subject the government to effective control. And all she can do is criticize the government and challenge it in front of parliament and the public. She cannot achieve the overthrow of the government. However, it should be noted that only those who are not bound by their own interests can control. Therefore, even opposition politicians try to get along with the government. And it becomes quite obvious that the opposition and government parties in Germany rarely oppose each other, but rather show respect for each other. In general, it should be emphasized that the Bundestag does not particularly intensively use its ability to demand from the government information and justification for the measures it takes. Therefore, the Bundestag exercises control over the government mainly through participation in legislation. And the government relatively rarely has to fear the opposition as a controlling authority, since it also wants to participate a little in power.

The insignificance of parliament's control activities is also evident from the way and by what method it is informed about the government's political decisions. In Germany, it has already become common that government representatives (especially the head of the government) do not communicate important political decisions first to parliament, but directly communicate them to the public through other channels - primarily television. And parliament is by no means the first recipient of politically significant government information.

Thus, from all that has been said, it is clear that the Bundestag does not have a clear idea of ​​​​its own role, it uses its control functions too weakly and has little political influence on the public. If we compare, for example, the German Bundestag with the Congress of the United States of America and the House of Commons of Great Britain, then it is a mixture of both types.

The American Congress, for example, does not depend on the head of the country's government, but on the contrary is a strong counterbalance to the power of the president and is directly involved in the formation of the country's policies and legislation. While the English House of Commons, on the contrary, is strongly subordinate to the government, controlled by it and is an instrument in the hands of the government.

In the constitutional system of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Bundestag performs three main functions:

1) is the decisive body for forming the government;

2) serves as the center of the legislative process;

3) is the body of representation of the entire German people.

As the government formation body, the Bundestag, on the proposal of the Federal President, elects the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Federal President can only choose between two politicians nominated for election by both major parties as "candidates for the post of Chancellor". Based on the election results, the federal president retains the right to propose the candidate who will be elected by parliament. Usually this is the leader of the strongest party.

According to the old tradition, ministers and even the chancellor himself did not necessarily have to come from the parliament, and according to the new rules, all cabinet members are selected from members of the Bundestag. But it is not at all easy for an elected chancellor to satisfy all competing interests when forming a cabinet.

And the Federal Chancellor can count on reliable support from the majority of the Bundestag only if he knows how to satisfy the interests of this majority when forming a government.

The Bundestag not only necessarily participates in the adoption of laws, but is also the central body of the legislative process. However, virtually the entire legislative process goes through the federal government, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.

The role of parties in the formation of parliament

Parties help shape the political will of the people. They can be created freely. Their internal organization must comply with democratic principles (Article 21 of the Basic Law).

After the first all-German elections in 1990. The German Bundestag included six parties: the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP), the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the Union group 90/ Greens”, united in one list.

The CDU does not have a state union in Bavaria, while the CSU operates only in Bavaria, but in the Bundestag the CDU and CSU are united into one faction.

The creation of the SPD, CDU, CSU and FDP in the western states of Germany occurred in 1945-1947.

Founding of the SPD - re-founding of the party of the same name, previously elected mainly by employees, which was banned by the Hitler regime in 1933. The remaining parties are new. The Christian parties CDU and CSU - in contrast to the old Catholic party of the center of the Weimar Republic - tried to win voters of both Christian denominations. With its programmatic approach, the FDP continued the traditions of German liberalism.

These four parties have undergone significant changes in the more than four decades since their founding. At the federal level, all of them during this time entered into a coalition with each other or were in opposition. Today they consider themselves people's parties, representing all segments of the population. They have distinct right and left wings, reflecting the diverse positions of the people's party.

From 1983 to 1990 The Green Party also entered the Bundestag. At the federal level, this party was founded in 1979. Since then, it has managed to occupy seats in several state parliaments. The party, which unites opponents of nuclear energy and pacifist groups, owes its origins to the radical environmental movement. In the Bundestag elections in 1990, the Greens did not achieve the passing five percent. But the representatives of Union 90, united with them on one list, got into the Bundestag. This group came out of the human rights movement, which in 1989-1990. contributed to the peaceful coup in the former GDR. The parties "Union 90" and "Greens" merged on May 14, 1993 into one party called "Union 90/Greens".

The PDS is the successor to the former government party of the GDR, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). In united Germany, it failed to form into a major political force. The PDS - like the joint list "Alliance 90/Greens" - entered the Bundestag only due to the special situation for parties in the new and old states.

In all parties, members pay dues. But these funds cover only part of their financial needs. The donations that parties receive from their political supporters are also not enough for this. In addition, this is fraught with danger: large donors can influence the will of the party. The Party Law therefore imposes an obligation to disclose donations above a certain amount. The law on parties sets the amount to be made public at 40,000 marks. However, the Federal Constitutional Court considers this amount to be too high and establishes an obligation to provide information on donations over 20,000 marks.

In addition to their own funds, parties receive government subsidies to cover their expenses during the election campaign. Thus, the state reimburses parties that received at least 0.5% of the votes in the elections an amount of 5 marks per voter in accordance with the proportion of second votes received in the electoral district.

The Federal Constitutional Court has banned funding beyond the scope of reimbursement for election campaign expenses.

1.2 Bundesrat. Formation and composition of members

According to German legal doctrine, the Bundesrat is a federal body through which the German states participate in the exercise of legislative and executive power, as well as in EU affairs (Article 50 of the Basic Law). The Bundesrat is not an elected body (i.e. not the second chamber of parliament). The Bundesrat includes members of the State Governments. Each land has at least 3 votes:

Any land delegates a minimum of 3 members;

If the population of the earth exceeds 2 million, then the earth has 4 votes;

There are currently 68 seats in the Bundesrat. Each state “sends” as many members to the Bundesrat as it has votes. Members of the Bundesrat are appointed and recalled by the state governments. Membership of the Bundesrat cannot be combined with a parliamentary mandate in the Bundestag.

The Bundesrat has no fixed term of office and cannot be dissolved. Its composition changes depending on the elections to the Landtags of the states. Party composition does not matter, factions are not formed, but groups of Bundesrat members from states with the same party are blocked among themselves. Votes of the land can only be cast in concert, as a single list.

The Bundesrat adopts its regulations. Currently, the regulations of 1966, as amended in 1988, are in force, which regulate general provisions (on members of the Bundesrat, legislature, etc.), on the formation and legal status of the bodies of the Bundesrat (presidium, committees, secretariat, etc.), on meetings of the Bundesrat (preparation, convening, leadership, quorum, etc.), on proceedings in committees, on proceedings in European Union affairs, etc.

The Bundesrat elects a chairman for a term of 1 year, he convenes meetings, sets the agenda, leads debates, and decides on voting. The Chairman has administrative power in the Bundesrat building. He replaces the Federal President if he is temporarily unable to perform his functions.

There are permanent committees, which include one representative from the land or land officials.

The Bundesrat makes its decisions by at least a majority vote.

The meetings of the Bundesrat are public; publicity may be excluded.

To consider the affairs of the European Union, the Bundesrat may form a chamber for European affairs, the decisions of which will have the force of decisions of the Bundesrat (Article 52 of the Basic Law).

1.3 Legislative process

Bills are usually introduced into the Bundestag. The right of legislative initiative is vested in the federal government, members of the Bundestag and members of the Bundesrat. Government bills must first be submitted to the Bundesrat (to obtain the opinion of the Länder) and then, with the opinion of the Bundesrat, must be transmitted to the Bundestag within a specified period of time (six weeks). If the government considers a project urgent, it can refer it to the Bundestag without waiting for a decision from the Bundesrat.

Deputies of the Bundestag can only introduce bills to the Bundestag collectively: on behalf of a faction or if at least 5% of the signatures of the total number of deputies of the Bundestag are collected. Members of the Bundesrat can also submit bills to the Bundestag as a group (from the state), but they can only send them to the Bundestag through the federal government, which attaches its opinion to the bill.

Bills are considered in three readings: at the 1st of them, as a rule, the main provisions of the draft are discussed, at the end of the 1st reading the bill is transferred to one of the Bundestag committees; 2nd reading includes a discussion of each article of the project, making changes to it; At the end of the 3rd reading, a vote is taken on the bill. The bill adopted by the Bundestag is transmitted to the Bundesrat. There are two procedures for accepting a text last. On some issues, the consent of the Bundesrat is mandatory: for laws on amending the constitution, on territorial changes to the federation, on relations between the federation and the states, etc. If on these issues the Bundesrat does not agree with the text adopted by the Bundestag, but proposes changes and additions, a conciliation committee is created (conciliation committee). commission) of representatives of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. If the conciliation committee supports the decision of the Bundestag, then the Bundesrat accepts the decision, and therefore the text of the law proposed by the Bundestag. If the committee does not support the decision of the Bundestag, then the Bundestag must discuss the rejected bill a second time, after which a new conciliation commission (committee) is possible. The Bundesrat therefore has, albeit somewhat weakened, a veto on these issues.

Bills on other issues adopted by the Bundestag must also be transmitted to the Bundesrat. If he gives his consent, the law is considered adopted, published and comes into force. If he proposes changes and additions, then a conciliation committee is also created, but in this case, regardless of the decision of the committee, the Bundestag has the right to pass a law without the consent of the Bundesrat. The Bundesrat retains the right to protest within two weeks (a kind of veto). The protest is considered by the Bundestag, but it has the right to reject it not even with a qualified vote, but with a simple majority vote of the total number of deputies. Laws that do not affect issues of constitutional regulation and sovereignty can also be adopted by a joint committee consisting of 2/3 members of the Bundestag and 2/3 members of the Bundesrat (elected). It assumes the rights of both houses in the event of a state of defense being declared. This practice was not used.

However, under certain conditions, the Bundesrat, on the contrary, can pass laws independently, without the participation of the Bundestag. This is possible under the conditions that the President, at the proposal of the government and with the consent of the Bundesrat, declares a state of legislative necessity (Article 81 of the Basic Law). If the government considers a bill urgent, the Bundesrat has the right to pass it without the consent of the Bundestag (provided that the Bundestag rejects the law). A state of legislative necessity can be introduced for a certain period.

On issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the EU, the Bundesrat can create a European Chamber, whose decisions will be equivalent to those of the Bundesrat.

During a “state of emergency,” a special body - a joint committee - can replace parliament. The joint committee consists of 48 members (2/3 from the Bundestag and 1/3 from the Bundesrat), it can exercise all the rights belonging to the parliament, except for the repeal or amendment of the Basic Law.

The Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany, namely the Bundestag, has the right to delegate to executive authorities the authority to issue acts within the scope of the legislative competence of the federation. Such powers can be delegated to an individual minister or even the state government. When delegating powers concerning national means of transport, communications and certain other matters, the consent of the Bundesrat is required. His consent is also required if the government issues regulations based on law that must be implemented by the Länder.

The budget of the Federal Republic of Germany is adopted by parliament in compliance with the usual legislative procedure. It must be submitted by the Federal Government no later than the beginning of September. The most important roles in this process are played by the Standing Committee on Finance of the Bundesrat and the Budget Commission of the Bundestag.

Members of the Federal Government bear collective and individual political responsibility to the Bundestag. In Germany, the Bundestag can remove the chancellor by expressing a so-called constructive vote of no confidence in him, i.e. by electing a successor to the head of government. There is also a known form of control in the form of a vote of no confidence. The question of a vote of confidence is raised by the Chancellor. If the Federal Chancellor's proposal to express no confidence in him does not meet with the consent of the majority of the members of the Bundestag, then the Federal President may, at the proposal of the Federal Chancellor, dissolve the Bundestag within 21 days. The right to dissolve ends as soon as the Bundestag elects another Federal Chancellor by a majority of its members.

The Parliament also has other powers inherent in the legislative body: it ratifies international treaties (this is usually done by the Bundestag, but some treaties require the consent of the Bundesrat), declares the state of defense under the condition of a threat of aggression, forms some other supreme bodies of the state (the Bundestag participates in the elections of the President of the Republic, The Bundestag and Bundesrat form the Federal Constitutional Court, elect the chairman and vice-chairman of the Court of Accounts, the financial control body).

Chapter 2. Comparative analysis of the Parliament of Germany and the Republic of Uzbekistan

Before starting the analysis, I would like to cite the most important quotes from the articles of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan that establish legislative power in the country.

Article 76. The highest state representative body is the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which exercises legislative power.

The Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan consists of two chambers - the Legislative Chamber (lower house) and the Senate (upper house).

The term of office of the Legislative Chamber and Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan is five years.

As we can see from Article No. 76 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Parliament, also known as the Oliy Majlis, is a bicameral parliament, in contrast to the Parliament, also known as the Reichstag, of Germany, which is a unicameral parliament consisting of the Bundestag, while the Parliament of Uzbekistan consists of two chambers - the Legislative Chamber and the Senate. The term of office of the Legislative Chamber is 5 years, the term of office of the Bundestag is 4 years.

Article 77. The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan consists of one hundred and fifty deputies elected in territorial electoral districts on a multi-party basis.

The Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan is the chamber of territorial representation and consists of members of the Senate (senators).

Members of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan are elected in equal numbers - six people each - from the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regions and the city of Tashkent by secret ballot at the relevant joint meetings of deputies of the Jokargy Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, representative bodies of state power of regions, districts and cities from among these deputies. Sixteen members of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan are appointed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan from among the most respected citizens with extensive practical experience and special merits in the field of science, art, literature, production and other areas of state and public activity.

The same person cannot be simultaneously a deputy of the Legislative Chamber and a member of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

As we can see, the Legislative Chamber of our Republic consists of 150 deputies, while the Bundestag consists of 598 deputies. The Senate is the chamber of territorial representation, and the Bundesrat is only a body of representation of the states; it is not equated with the second chamber of the Reichstag. Elections to the Senate are carried out by 6 people from each administrative-territorial unit, while the number of members of the Bundesrat depends on the size of the land. 16 members of the Senate are appointed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, but in Germany there is no such thing. But here we can observe one similarity: the deputies of the Legislative Chamber and the Bundesrat cannot simultaneously combine their work with membership in the Senate and the Bundesrat.

Article 83. The right of legislative initiative belongs to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Karakalpakstan represented by its highest representative body of state power, deputies of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Economic Court, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Uzbekistan and is implemented through the submission of a bill by subjects of the right of legislative initiative to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

As we see, in the Republic of Uzbekistan, several bodies and persons have the right of legislative initiative, in contrast to the Parliament of Germany. There, the federal government, members of the Bundestag and members of the Bundesrat have the right of legislative initiative.

From the above it is clear that the similarity between the parliaments of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Federal Republic of Germany is small, only some points of the articles have commonality.

Conclusion

From the above, it becomes clear that the German parliament is unicameral and not bicameral, i.e. consists only of the Bundestag. The Bundesrat cannot be considered as a second chamber of parliament, because this body does not have equal rights as the Bundestag. We can see this in a comparative analysis of the parliament of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the parliament of Germany.

List of used literature

Guidelines

1. Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan. – T.: “O’qituvchi” NMIU, 2008.- 160 p.

2. Constitutions of the states of the European Union. Under the general editorship and with an introductory article by the director of the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation L.A. Okunkova. M.: Publishing group INFRA M - NORMA, 1997. P. 193

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§ 5. State bodies.Local government

A. Federal authorities

Bundestag

The Bundestag is the legislative body of the Federation. Domestic legal science considers the Bundestag to be one of the chambers of the German parliament (the other is the Bundesrat). This point of view is not shared by the majority of German lawyers, who believe that only the Bundestag can be called a parliament, since only it represents the German people as a single whole.

Formation order. The Bundestag consists of deputies elected on the basis of universal, equal, direct, free elections by secret ballot for a period of 4 years. The German Basic Law does not contain detailed provisions on the electoral system. It is established by current legislation. Currently, the procedure for elections to the Bundestag is determined by the Electoral Law of September 1, 1975, with subsequent amendments. The right to vote is granted to citizens who have reached the age of 18 and have resided in the territory of the Federation for at least 3 months. The right to be elected has the right to be elected to persons who have reached 18 years of age, have been citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany for at least 1 year, and have not been deprived of active voting rights.

The electoral law establishes a certain number of Bundestag deputies - 656 (in practice there are always more of them due to the peculiarities of the German electoral system, which will be discussed below; for example, in 1997 there were 672). Deputies have a free mandate, immunity and indemnity (the latter are somewhat limited in comparison with Russian ones).

When electing members of the Bundestag, a mixed system is used - the so-called "personalized proportional". Half of the members of the Bundestag (328) are elected in constituencies, with one member from each constituency. The other half is elected according to the so-called land party lists.

Each voter in Bundestag elections has two votes. He casts his first vote for the deputy candidate in the constituency, and the second vote for the land list of candidates of one of the parties. Both votes can be cast independently of each other: a voter has the right to give his “first” vote to a candidate from one party, and his “second” vote to the land list of candidates from another party.

In an electoral district, the candidate who received more votes than others is considered elected (majority system of relative majority). The remaining 328 seats are filled by candidates from the state party lists.

To determine the number of mandates received by a party list, since 1985 it has been used counting system using the Hare-Niemeyer method. To do this, all "second" votes cast for a particular party's list are multiplied by the total number of seats to be distributed. The resulting multiple is then divided by the total number of all “second” votes cast for all party lists. Each party list receives as many seats as the number of full numbers it receives as a result. The remaining free spaces are distributed in the order of the largest fractions of numbers (after the decimal point) that, in this calculation, fall on a particular list. After this procedure, all seats are distributed, and it is established how many seats each party can count on.

Batch A 10,000 x 12 21000 = 5.71

Batch B 8000 x 12 21000 = 4.57

Batch C 1600 x 12 21000 = 0.91

Batch D 1400 x 12 21000 = 0.8

At the first count, Party A gets 5 seats and Party B gets 4 seats. Of the 12 seats, three seats remain unallocated, one of them goes to parties C and D, another to party A. After this, the number of seats already received by this party in the electoral elections is subtracted from the total number of seats determined in this way for each land list of parties. districts of the earth. A party can receive more direct mandates in one of the lands than it is entitled to based on the number of its second votes. In this case, the parliament is increased by the number of mandates mentioned (these are the so-called redundant mandates), and the party receives in this case a number of mandates in excess of the proportion. According to the electoral law, only those parties that have collected at least 5 percent of the votes throughout the republic (5 percent “barrier” clause) or whose candidates have been elected in at least three electoral districts participate in the distribution of mandates.

Organization of the Bundestag. Direct management of the activities of the Bundestag is carried out by its chairman (officially he is called the president). He is elected from among the deputies for the entire term of the legislature and cannot be recalled from his post. According to established tradition, a representative of the largest faction is elected chairman of the Bundestag. At the same time, deputies are elected - according to the number of factions represented in the Bundestag, as well as several secretaries. Together they form the presidium of the chamber, which, however, does not perform any functions as a collegial body. Against, Adviceelders is an important organ of the Bundestag. It consists of a chairman, vice-chairmen and 24 members appointed by factions in proportion to their size. The Council's tasks include coordinating between factions the number of Bundestag committees, distributing seats in them between factions, and appointing committee chairmen and their deputies. In addition, the Council of Elders agrees on the agenda of the upcoming meetings of the Bundestag and the plan for its meetings for a longer period. The Council of Elders adopts the draft budget of the Bundestag and makes decisions on its internal affairs.

Deputies who are members of the same party form party faction Bundestag (the united faction of the CDU-CSU consists of two groups of deputies - the CDU and the CSU, the latter enjoying relative independence within the faction). A faction can only be created by a group of deputies that consists of at least 5% of the total number of deputies. Factions are not official bodies of the Bundestag, but play a large role in its work. They consider the main issues before their discussion at the plenary sessions of the chamber, formulate the legislative policy of the party, appoint speakers for speeches at plenary sessions and in committees, determine the main content of these speeches, select their representatives for appointment to the most important posts in the Bundestag, determine the line of conduct of deputies during voting, and other issues are resolved.

The party faction is led by a board. It includes the chairman of the faction, his deputies and secretaries, as well as other members. Each faction also forms working groups on the main directions of domestic and foreign policy. Members of the faction board and the leadership of working groups form the core of the faction, consisting of professional politicians. It is they who determine the line of behavior of the faction and the parliamentary policy of the party, occupy responsible positions in the Bundestag and most often speak at its plenary sessions and committees. The remaining members of the faction, the so-called “back benchers,” do not have much influence and only support the political line of the party in the Bundestag.

An essential role in the work of the Bundestag is played by its committeeYou. Structurally, all committees are divided into industry,special And investigative. Industry committees are divided into mandatory(there are three of them: the Committee on European Union Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Defense; the formation of these committees is provided for in the Basic Law) and optional(their number, as well as the profile of their activities, changes, currently there are 23).

The competence of the Bundestag includes the development of legislation, approval of the federal budget, election of the Federal Chancellor and parliamentary control over the activities of the Federal Government, ratification of international treaties, decision-making on the declaration of a state of defense and some other issues.

The most important function of the Bundestag is lawmaking. The legislative initiative belongs to the Federal Government, members of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. All bills are submitted to the Bundestag, but government bills are first sent to the Bundesrat, which can make comments, and bills from the Bundesrat are transmitted to the Bundestag through the Federal Government, which must make its recommendations. As practice shows, over 80% of all bills are introduced into the Bundestag at the initiative of the Federal Government.

The legislative procedure is regulated by the rules of the Bundestag, which provide for the rule of “three readings” of a bill. First the reading is information about the bill with the proposal of the council of elders. At this stage, only the general principles of the bill can be discussed. The vast majority of bills are referred to committees after their first reading. The Bundestag can set a date for the second reading without sending the bill to committees. In second During the reading, the Bundestag discusses the bill in the wording proposed by the committee, together with the latter’s report. At this stage, deputies can introduce amendments and additions to the bill. At the same time, a vote is taken on the bill, usually in parts, and a vote on the amendments made.

The bill adopted in the second reading provides the basis for third reading. At this stage, discussion of the project as a whole can be resumed and new amendments can be made, but only on behalf of the faction. Then comes the final vote.

The state law of Germany distinguishes between constitutional, “federal” (i.e., those affecting the federal structure of the state or the powers of state state bodies) and ordinary laws. The first are adopted by the Bundestag by a qualified majority, and then by the same majority by the Bundesrat. "Federal" laws are adopted by a simple majority of the Bundestag, but require the mandatory consent of the Bundesrat. Ordinary laws are adopted only by the Bundestag by a simple majority vote. However, under these laws, the Bundesrat has the right to protest, which entails a second vote in the Bundestag. If the Bundestag confirms the previous decision, the protest is considered rejected.

The most important powers of the Bundestag include the approval of the federal budget. The draft budget is prepared by the Federal Government. The Bundestag has the right to propose its own amendments to the government's draft budget, but if they provide for an increase in expenses or new expenses, then such amendments can only be adopted with the consent of the Government.

One of the most important functions of the Bundestag is to resolve the issue of the head of government. At the beginning of its legislature, the Bundestag elects the Federal Chancellor, who then independently forms the Government. The solution to this issue depends on the balance of political forces in parliament, because a real chance of being elected to the post of Chancellor has a candidate from the party that has an absolute majority of seats, or who is supported by a coalition of parties that has such a majority.

Parliamentary control over the activities of the Government is limited. The Bundestag and its committees may require the presence of members of the Government at their meetings. Deputies have the right to ask questions to the Chancellor and ministers, who are required to give an oral answer. For this purpose, up to three hours are allocated weekly (usually on Thursdays) during the parliamentary session.

Groups of deputies can make small and large requests to the Government, to which a written response must be given within 14 days. The difference between a large request and a small one is that the Government’s response to the first requires debate.

The Bundestag works constantly, with the exception of the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays. Plenary sessions usually take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; committees and factions meet on other weekdays.

Bundesrat

Bundesrat- is the federal body through whichlands participate in the implementation of legislative and executivebody of the Federation, as well as in the affairs of the European Unionyuza(v. 50). If we adhere to the traditional point of view that the German parliament consists of two chambers, then the Bundesrat is the upper house of parliament. The Bundesrat is not an elected body. It consists of members of the state governments.

Each land has at least three votes; lands with a population of over 2 million have 4 votes, lands with a population of over 6 million - 5 votes, lands with a population of over 7 million - 6 votes. At the end of 1997, the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia had 6 votes each, Hesse - 5, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Upper Pomerania, Saarland - 3 votes each, the remaining 7 states had 4 votes each ; in total there are 69 seats in the Bundesrat.

Each state appoints as many members to the Bundesrat as it has votes. Members of the Bundesrat are appointed and recalled by the state governments. In practice, members of the Bundesrat are usually appointed by the Prime Minister and the most influential ministers of the state government. Membership of the Bundesrat excludes the possibility of simultaneously being a member of the Bundestag.

The Bundesrat has no fixed term of office: it is a permanent body that cannot be dissolved by any other body. The composition of the Bundesrat in practice changes in parts in connection with the results of elections to the Landtags of the German states and the formation of new governments. Its party composition is changing accordingly. There are no party factions in the Bundesrat itself, but groups of Bundesrat members from states where representatives of the same party are in power are blocked among themselves during voting. The votes of the land can only be cast in concert.

The Bundesrat elects its chairman for a period of one year. The Chairman convenes meetings of the Bundesrat, sets the agenda, leads debates, and decides on voting. The Chairman has administrative power in the Bundesrat building. He replaces the Federal President if the latter is temporarily unable to perform his functions.

Its standing committees play a significant role in the work of the Bundesrat. They include one representative from each state from among the members of the Bundesrat or authorized officials of the state.

The powers of the Bundesrat are quite broad: they cover the sphere of legislation, administration, as well as the affairs of the European Union.

The Bundesrat takes part in legislative activities. He has the right of legislative initiative, his participation in the adoption of constitutional and “federal” laws is mandatory. The Bundesrat has the right to protest ordinary laws adopted by the Bundestag, which entails a second vote in the Bundestag. At the request of the Bundesrat, a conciliation committee must be convened.

Under certain conditions, the Bundesrat may become the sole legislative body. According to Art. 81 of the Basic Law, at the request of the Federal Government, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany may declare state of legislative necessity in two cases: 1) if the Bundestag rejects a government bill, although the Chancellor has associated a question of confidence with it; 2) if, when raising the issue of confidence, the Chancellor did not receive a majority of votes in the Bundestag, and the latter, without being dissolved, rejects the bill recognized by the Federal Government as urgent. In these cases, only the consent of the Bundesrat is sufficient to pass the law. The state of legislative necessity applies not only to the bill giving rise to it, but also to other bills during the subsequent six months.

Unlike the Bundestag, the Bundesrat participates in the exercise of the executive power of the Federation. Many regulations of the Federal Government, issued on the basis of federal laws, require the consent of the Bundesrat. The Federal Government, according to Art. 53 of the Basic Law, is obliged to keep the Bundesrat informed of current affairs.

Along with the Federal Government, the Bundesrat participates in federal supervision of the Länder. General administrative regulations of the Federal Government addressed to the Länder require the consent of the Bundesrat. At the proposal of the Federal Government, the Bundesrat determines whether the Länder has violated federal law. He gives consent to the Federal Government to use union coercion in relation to the lands if they do not fulfill their constitutional duties (Part 1, Article 37 of the Basic Law).

On a number of legal issues, the Bundesrat is authorized to express its opinion before the Federal Constitutional Court: when checking the constitutionality of a particular law, in the event of an appeal by the constitutional court of a land to the Federal Constitutional Court regarding the interpretation of the Basic Law, etc.

In matters falling within the competence of the European Union, the Bundesrat may create a European Chamber, the decisions of which are equivalent to those of the Bundesrat. When creating the European Chamber, the representation of the Länder in the Bundesrat is taken into account, as well as the fact that the Länder's votes can only be cast in concert (clause 52).

An amendment to the Basic Law adopted in 1968 provided for the possibility of creating a new body that could replace parliament. This is the so-called joint committee created in case of a “state of emergency”. It consists of 48 members: two-thirds from the Bundestag and one-third from the Bundesrat. Members are appointed by the Bundestag on the basis of proportional representation of factions; they cannot be part of the Federal Government. Each state must be represented by one member of the Bundesrat, who is appointed by it; these members are not bound by the instructions of the state governments. During the "state of defense" the joint committee replaces the Bundestag and the Bundesrat and exercises their rights. Only the Basic Law cannot be repealed or partially amended by a decision of a joint committee.

Federal President

According to the Basic Law, the head of the Federal Republic of Germany is the Federal President. In Germany, he occupies a more modest place in the state mechanism than the Reich President in the Weimar Republic. A significant part of the latter’s powers has now been transferred to the Federal Chancellor.

The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is elected by a special body called the Federal Assembly. It is created only for the election of the President. The Federal Assembly consists of members of the Bundestag and the same number of members elected by the Landtags of the German states. The Landtags elect them on the basis of proportional representation in a number established for each state by the Federal Government, taking into account the number of deputies from a given state and the latest population data.

The Federal Assembly is convened no later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany. The place and time of convening the Federal Assembly is determined by the President of the Bundestag; he also directs the work of the meeting.

A German citizen who has the right to be elected to the Bundestag and has reached the age of 40 can be elected to the post of President of the Federal Republic of Germany. Every member of the Federal Assembly has the right to nominate a candidate for the post of President. Candidates will not be discussed.

A candidate who receives an absolute majority of votes from members of the Federal Assembly in the first or second round of voting is considered elected to the post of President. If in the first two rounds no candidate received the required majority, a third round is appointed, in which a relative majority of votes is sufficient to elect the President (new candidates may be nominated in the second and third rounds).

The federal president is elected for a term of 5 years with the right to re-election. However, no one can be elected President more than two times in a row. Upon taking office, the President takes the oath (its text is contained in the constitution) at a joint meeting of the Bundestag and Bundesrat.

In the field of domestic policy, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany is vested with the following powers: he signs Federal laws and orders their publication; can appeal a law passed by parliament as unconstitutional before the Federal Constitutional Court; nominates a candidate for the post of Federal Chancellor (taking into account the balance of party factions in the Bundestag); appoints federal ministers on the proposal of the Federal Chancellor, has the right to appoint and dismiss federal officials and federal judges, officers and non-commissioned officers (these powers can be transferred to federal ministers); exercises the right to pardon, award orders and medals, etc.

The foreign policy powers of the Federal President include: representation of the Federation in international relations, appointment and recall of German ambassadors to foreign states, and reception of plenipotentiary representatives of foreign states accredited to him. The President has the right to conclude treaties with foreign states on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany (treaties of a political nature and treaties related to the objects of federal legislation require ratification by parliament).

The Federal President also has so-called “reserve” powers, using which he can influence political life. The President has the right to demand the convening of the Bundestag (this requirement must be fulfilled); he can dissolve the Bundestag if the latter does not elect the Chancellor with an absolute majority of votes or if the Chancellor, when raising the question of confidence, does not receive a majority of votes of the members of the Bundestag. On the proposal of the Federal Government and with the consent of the Bundesrat, the President may declare a state of legislative necessity, during which, as noted, federal laws can be adopted without the participation of the Bundestag.

Among the emergency powers is the right of the Federal President to declare, with the consent of the Chancellor, a “state of defense” if the convening of the Bundestag or a joint committee is prevented by “insurmountable obstacles”.

For the orders and instructions of the Federal President to come into effect, they must be countersigned by the Federal Chancellor or the competent Federal Minister. This rule does not apply in the case of the appointment or resignation of the Federal Chancellor, the dissolution of the Bundestag when the Chancellor is elected by a relative majority, or the request that the Federal Chancellor or Federal Minister perform their duties until their successors are appointed.

The Federal President is not politically responsible to the representative bodies of the Federal Republic of Germany. It does not report on its activities to either the Bundestag or the Federal Assembly. However, the Basic Law allows for the possibility of removing the President from office before the expiration of his term of office. The question of removing the President from office can be brought before the Federal Constitutional Court (which makes the final decision) only in connection with the accusation of a deliberate violation of the Basic Law or other federal law. A proposal to initiate charges must be made by at least a quarter of the votes of the members of the Bundestag or a quarter of the votes of the members of the Bundesrat. A two-thirds majority of members of the Bundestag or two-thirds of the members of the Bundesrat are required to decide whether to initiate charges. The accusation is supported by the authorized body of the body that brought the accusation. Until now, there has been no precedent for removing a President from office in the history of Germany.

federal government

Executive power in Germany is exercised by the Federal Government. According to T. Maunz, author of a textbook on state law in Germany, “it is the Government that represents the executive power, and since its powers are broader than ever, it can be argued that the Basic Law has strengthened the executive power ". The constitutional legislator sought to create a strong executive power, but controlled by parliament. Therefore, he entrusted this power to the Chancellor, and not to the President.

The Basic Law provides for the following procedure for the formation of the Federal Government. At the beginning of the legislature, the Bundestag, at the proposal of the Federal President, elects the Federal Chancellor - the head of the Government. The candidate who receives an absolute majority of the votes of the members of the Bundestag is considered elected, after which he is officially appointed to the post of Chancellor by an act of the Federal President. The remaining members of the Government are appointed and dismissed by the Federal President on the proposal of the Chancellor, without any participation of the Bundestag.

If the candidate proposed by the President is not elected, the Bundestag is given the right, within the next two weeks, to elect another person to the post of Federal Chancellor by an absolute majority of votes. In this case, the President is obliged to appoint a candidate proposed by parliament for the post of Chancellor if this candidacy receives the support of an absolute majority of the chamber. If the candidate receives a relative majority of votes, the President can either appoint him Chancellor or dissolve the Bundestag.

The term of office of the Federal Chancellor coincides in principle with the term of office of the Bundestag. They cease with the convening of the new Bundestag, with the passing of a constructive vote of no confidence by the Bundestag, as well as with voluntary resignation, which is possible at any time. With the termination of the powers of the Chancellor, the powers of all federal ministers are automatically terminated and the procedure for forming a new Government follows.

In addition to the Federal Chancellor, the Government includes federal ministers. Usually they all head federal ministries, but there may also be ministers without portfolio (or ministers for special assignments). The Chancellor appoints one of the ministers as his deputy (vice-chancellor); in coalition governments, this post is given to the party acting in a bloc with the majority party. The number of members of the Government, as well as the distribution of portfolios between them, is established by the Chancellor (in the formation of coalition governments - by agreement between the blocking parties).

The Federal Chancellor occupies a leading position in the Government. According to the Basic Law, the power of the Federal Chancellor is significantly strengthened by the powers of the President, Parliament, and ministers. As a result, the head of the Government - the Federal Chancellor - becomes, as it were, the political center of the entire constitutional system of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is not surprising that the main principle of this system is the chancellor principle and the concept of chancellor democracy is widely used.

It is the Chancellor, and not parliament or the Government as a collegial body, that determines the main course, the general political line of the Federal Government (Article 65). The Federal Chancellor generally directs the activities of individual ministers, who independently conduct the affairs of the industry entrusted to them within the framework of the basic line determined by the Federal Chancellor. The power of the Federal Chancellor is further strengthened during the “state of defense” period, when the highest command of the Armed Forces passes to him (in peacetime, the Minister of Defense is considered the commander-in-chief). When exercising his powers, the Chancellor relies on the auxiliary apparatus directly subordinate to him. It is based on three departments: Federal Chancellor's Office, ServiceFederal Government Press and Information And Federalnaya intelligence service. The most important among them is the Service (Department) of the Federal Chancellor, in which all threads of government policy are concentrated. She prepares decisions, statements and speeches of the head of the Government, coordinates and controls, with the help of a whole staff of assistants, the work of ministries, maintains communication between the Government and various associations in economics, politics, social life, etc.

The activities of the Government as a collegial body are regulated by the Regulations of the Federal Government, adopted back in 1951. The competence of the Government includes numerous and important issues of domestic and foreign policy, issues of an economic, financial and social nature. The federal government has the right of legislative initiative and, as practice shows, uses it widely.

The Basic Law of Germany provides for the possibility of delegated legislation: on the basis of Art. 80 Parliament may authorize the Government as a whole or a federal minister to issue regulations of a general nature. In addition, the Federal Government and individual ministers can issue regulations to implement laws. On certain issues, the Government, with the consent of the Bundesrat, can issue regulations that have the force of law (Article 119 of the Basic Law). Finally, in the area of ​​administration, the Federal Government and ministers can issue general administrative regulations.

The federal government has great rights to control the activities of government bodies in the states. It monitors the implementation of federal laws by the states. For this purpose, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany can send its representatives to the highest state bodies of the states. With help conferences of state ministers, which are usually chaired by the competent federal minister, the Federal Government exercises general supervision and coordination of the activities of government bodies in the states. In these matters, the Federal Government may, with the consent of the Bundesrat, issue general administrative regulations and, on the basis of laws, issue binding instructions to the Länder.

Meetings of the Federal Government are convened as needed, usually once a week, at the residence of the Federal Chancellor. Government meetings are closed. In addition to federal ministers, other persons may participate in cabinet meetings. The personal circle of those invited to the Government meeting is determined by the Federal Chancellor's Service in agreement with the Head of the Government.

The German government relies primarily on federal ministries in its activities. Their number is relatively small (it ranged from 13 in 1949 to 17 in 1987). The federal minister heading the ministry independently and under his own responsibility conducts the affairs of his branch.