Deputation (Hamburg)

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Entrance to the tax authorities at Gänsemarkt in Hamburg. She still calls the central ornament of the building erected 1918–1926 "Finance Deputation"

Deputations are special citizens' bodies in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg for participation and control in the state authorities - these correspond to the state ministries in the territorial states - and are a historically determined specialty in Hamburg.

The formation of deputations results today from Article 56 of the Constitution of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg : "The people are called to participate in the administration ..."

The deputies work on a voluntary basis and are elected by the Hamburg Parliament for the duration of their own electoral term. As a rule, the candidates proposed by the respective parliamentary groups are elected in the same balance of power as they are in the citizenry.

Every citizen of Hamburg, regardless of membership in a party, who is also entitled to vote for the district assembly, is eligible for deputy , provided that he is not employed as a state employee in the same authority.

The deputations each consist of 15 deputies and the president, i.e. the senator (representing his council of state ) of the respective authority and are convened and chaired by him as chairman.

The tasks of the deputation consist of participating in the preparation and implementation of the budget of the authority, participation in fundamental decisions and changes in the authority, in the recruitment and promotion of civil servants and employees (with a few restrictions e.g. in the protection of the constitution and in the appointment professional judges). They deal with complaints and proposed changes and have the right to inspect files. You are not bound by instructions.

The decisions of the deputation are made by majority vote. In the event of a tie, the vote of the authority's president is decisive. The President can raise an objection to the Senate against the decisions of the deputation if laws are violated and the state welfare appears to be endangered.

In June 2020, as part of the formation of a new government ( Senate Tschentscher II ), the SPD and the Greens decided with their two-thirds majority in the citizenship to change the constitution and abolish the deputations.

history

The forerunners of the deputations can be traced back to the late Middle Ages. Citizens monitored the activities of the councilors, who out of fear of abuse of office and wrong decisions should never be solely responsible. The type, composition and name changed over the centuries. The term deputation was also sometimes used for an authority or an office as a whole. Since 1971, members of the citizenship are no longer allowed to be deputies at the same time.

In June 2020, as part of the formation of a new government ( Senate Tschentscher II ), the SPD and the Greens decided to change the constitution and abolish the deputations with their two-thirds majority in the citizenry . The Greens in particular had advocated the abolition because the deputations were opaque and superfluous. The opposition factions of the CDU, Left and AfD, on the other hand, campaigned for it to be retained. The deputations are an essential control body, especially in personnel issues, in order to prevent "party felt" as well as appointments and promotions according to the party register in the authorities.

There were and are similar deputations in the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, see Deputation (Bremen)

Appeal Committees

The appeal committees have a similarly old tradition of public participation. They are set up in every authority and consist of two citizens, who are appointed similarly to the deputies, as well as the head of the legal office of the respective authority as chairman. As a preliminary stage of administrative law, citizens can appeal against decisions made by the authorities. Resolutions can be revoked by the respective president of the authority.

literature

  • Bernzen, Uwe: The deputations. Citizen participation in administration . State center for political education. Hamburg 1980.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CDU criticizes the planned abolition of deputations , Norddeutscher Rundfunk, accessed on June 24, 2020
  2. ↑ CDU criticizes the planned abolition of deputations , Norddeutscher Rundfunk, accessed on June 24, 2020