Joint committee
The Joint Committee is a constitutional body of the Federal Republic of Germany and is strictly subsidiary in principle . If the defense case, the meeting of the German Bundestag insurmountable obstacles prevent, he practices as emergency parliament the functions of the Bundestag and Bundesrat out. The joint committee consists of two thirds of members of the Bundestag and one third of members of the Bundesrat . So far, in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, there has never been a joint committee.
Legal bases
The legal basis for the Joint Committee was created by the Seventeenth Act amending the Basic Law of June 24, 1968, with which the provisions for the case of defense were inserted into the Basic Law.
Art. 53a of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany :
“(1) The joint committee consists of two thirds members of the Bundestag and one third members of the Bundesrat. The members of the Bundestag are appointed according to the strength of the parliamentary groups; they are not allowed to belong to the federal government. Each country is represented by a member of the Federal Council appointed by it; these members are not bound by instructions. The formation of the joint committee and its procedure are regulated by rules of procedure, which are to be adopted by the Bundestag and which require the approval of the Bundesrat.
(2) The Federal Government shall inform the Joint Committee of its plans for a case of defense. The rights of the Bundestag and its committees under Article 43 Paragraph 1 remain unaffected. "
Art. 115e of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany:
"(1) If, in the case of a defense, the Joint Committee determines with a majority of two thirds of the votes cast, at least with a majority of its members, that there are insurmountable obstacles preventing the Bundestag meeting in time or that it is not quorate, the Joint Committee shall have the Position of the Bundestag and Bundesrat and uniformly exercise their rights.
(2) A law of the Joint Committee may neither amend the Basic Law nor in whole or in part invalidate or suspend its application. The Joint Committee is not authorized to enact laws in accordance with Article 23, Paragraph 1, Clause 2, Article 24, Paragraph 1 or Article 29. "
Explanations
The joint committee consists of 48 members.
The committee assumes the tasks of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat if, in the event of a defense, it determines with two thirds of the votes cast and at least a majority of its members "that there are insurmountable obstacles to the timely meeting of the Bundestag or that it is not quorate". The federal government must inform the committee “about its plans for the case of defense [...]”. The Joint Committee may not change the Basic Law, transfer sovereignty or reorganize the federal territory.
Education and the procedural rules are governed by the rules of procedure for the joint committee that have been adopted by the Bundestag with the consent of the Bundesrat .
The joint committee currently consists of the following full members:
| CDU / CSU parliamentary group | SPD parliamentary group | AfD parliamentary group | FDP parliamentary group | Left faction | Alliance 90 / The Greens parliamentary group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| country | member |
|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | Thomas Strobl |
| Bavaria | Joachim Herrmann |
| Berlin | Andreas Geisel |
| Brandenburg | Dietmar Woidke |
| Bremen | Andreas Bovenschulte |
| Hamburg | Peter Tschentscher |
| Hesse | Volker Bouffier |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | Manuela Schwesig |
| Lower Saxony | Stephan Weil |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | Armin Laschet |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | Roger Lewentz |
| Saarland | Anke Rehlinger |
| Saxony | Michael Kretschmer |
| Saxony-Anhalt | Pure Haseloff |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Daniel Günther |
| Thuringia | Bodo Ramelow |
