German Bundestag approves reform of the Constitutional Court
Published: Thursday, Dec 19th 2024, 13:40
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The German Bundestag passed a constitutional amendment on Thursday that is intended to protect the highest German court from political instrumentalization or blockade.
Parliamentary groups from the SPD, CDU/CSU, Greens, FDP and Die Linke voted in favor of the bill. The necessary two-thirds majority was thus achieved. The Bundesrat (chamber of the federal states) still has to approve the bill.
The core of the planned reform is the anchoring of guidelines on the status, structure and working methods of the court in the Basic Law. The number of senates and their composition with eight judges each is also to be laid down in the Basic Law. The aim is to prevent these rules from being changed one day by a simple majority (50 percent). This is because a two-thirds majority is required to amend the Basic Law.
This is due to fears that parties on the political fringes - such as the right-wing populist AfD - could become increasingly strong in Germany. Poland and Hungary have shown how enemies of democracy can abuse a parliamentary majority to influence the constitutional court, it was said in the run-up to the decision.
©Keystone/SDA
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