Reform of the German Constitutional Court adopted
Published: Thursday, Dec 19th 2024, 14:00
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In Germany, the Bundestag has approved an amendment to the country's Basic Law to protect the Federal Constitutional Court.
Central guidelines on the structure and working methods of Germany's highest court will be incorporated into the constitution. This was decided by the Bundestag with the votes of the SPD, CDU/CSU, Greens, FDP and Die Linke group.
According to Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP), 600 MPs voted in favor and 69 MPs voted against. The required two-thirds majority was thus achieved.
The reform is necessary in order to leave no gateway open for the enemies of democracy, emphasized Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser in the final debate. The SPD politician recalled the failed Weimar democracy (1919-1933). She said that this was a failure at the time, "which was not least a failure of the democrats because they failed to take the necessary steps to protect and defend their democracy, because they did not make their institutions robust against attacks".
Changes in future only with a two-thirds majority
Among other things, the twelve-year term of office for judges, the exclusion of re-election and the age limit of 68 years for judges are to be enshrined in the Basic Law. So far, this has been regulated in the Federal Constitutional Court Act, which could be amended with a simple majority (50 percent), unlike the Basic Law. Here, a two-thirds majority is always required in the Bundestag and Bundesrat.
The Basic Law should also stipulate 16 judges and two senates. To ensure that the court's ability to function is not jeopardized under any circumstances, the Basic Law should also stipulate that a judge will continue to perform his or her official duties until a successor is elected. The same applies to the autonomy of the Federal Constitutional Court to determine its own rules of procedure.
In order to be prepared for the event of a blocking minority in the election of judges, a substitute election mechanism is to be introduced. If a two-thirds majority is not achieved, the right to vote is to be transferred from the Bundestag to the Bundesrat and vice versa. This is intended to prevent a permanent deadlock.
A blocking minority refers to a seat share of at least one third for an extreme party in a parliament. The far-right AfD achieved this in the state parliaments of Thuringia and Brandenburg after the elections in September.
The initiators of the reform added the details of this newly created option to the Federal Constitutional Court Act, which was voted on separately on Thursday. Here, too, a large majority voted in favor of the draft.
The Federal Council (chamber of the federal states) still has to approve the proposed legislation, which is intended to ensure the independence and functionality of the court even in politically turbulent times. It will deal with the reform as early as this Friday. This is possible because the federal states have agreed to shorten the deadline. A broad majority is also expected in the Bundesrat.
"Then I'll go all the way to Karlsruhe"
Ansgar Heveling (CDU), legal advisor to the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, said that the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe in southern Germany is a recognized institution that has proven its worth. "Then I'll go all the way to Karlsruhe" has become a common saying.
Konstantin von Notz (Greens) attacked Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) in his speech on the goals of the AfD reform. "Her closeness to Russia is intolerable," he shouted at the members of the AfD parliamentary group. Stephan Brandner (AfD) criticized the proposed legislation and spoke of an "old party cartel".
©Keystone/SDA
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