Law amending Article 180 of the Imperial Constitution

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Basic data
Title: Law amending Article 180 of the Imperial Constitution
Type: Imperial Law
Scope: German Empire
Legal matter: Constitutional law
Issued on: October 27, 1922
( RGBl. I p. 801)
Entry into force on: October 27, 1922
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The law amending Article 180 of the Imperial Constitution was a constitution- amending law at the time of the Weimar Republic . It regulated the end of the term of office of the Reich President . Back then officiated Friedrich Ebert , who on 11 February 1919 elected by the National Assembly had been. The constitution-amending law of October 27, 1922 determined that the term of office should end on June 30, 1925. Normally, the Weimar Constitution provided for the direct election of the Reich President by the people. This popular election was delayed by the law.

In fact, Ebert died on February 28, 1925, a few months before the end of this period. In March and April the two rounds of the first popular election of the Reich President took place. The non-party, conservative Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg became the new Reich President .

background

In the November Revolution, a revolutionary council of people's representatives first took power in Germany. This council called for elections to the National Assembly , which should adopt a new constitution. The National Assembly adopted a provisional constitutional order right from the start. This law on provisional power of the Reich of February 10, 1919 (Section 6) provided for a Reich President to manage the business of the Reich. About the election it was said (§ 7):

“The Reich President is elected by the National Assembly with an absolute majority. His office lasts until the new Reich President takes office, who is elected on the basis of the future Reich constitution. "

On this basis the National Assembly elected the leader of the majority Social Democrats , Friedrich Ebert, as Reich President the following day . Thereupon Ebert appointed Reich Minister. The empire thus had a government whose origins lay in the revolution, but which was democratically legitimized.

The new Reich constitution of August 11, 1919 stipulated that the Reich President was to be elected directly by the people. A term of office should last seven years. A transitional provision in Article 180 probably legitimized the National Assembly as the provisional Reichstag and the incumbent Reich President. However, no deadlines were set for the future elections of these imperial organs, neither in the constitution nor in the law on provisional imperial power of February 1919 (which had been expressly suspended by the new constitution anyway) or in the Reich law on the election of the Reich President from May 4, 1920.

In March 1920 the so-called Kapp Putsch took place in Berlin. The putschists failed to gain authority and obedience to their own government. Their demands included the election of a Reichstag and a Reich President, as prescribed by the constitution. The then still existing National Assembly and the legitimate government were not against it in principle. However, they had delayed both elections for electoral reasons. After the failed coup, the National Assembly quickly passed the Reich Election Act (for the Reichstag) and the aforementioned Presidential Election Act.

Creation and content

The first Reichstag of the Weimar Republic was elected in June 1920. The parties basically agreed that the Reich President should be elected by the people. This was also demanded by President Ebert on October 21, 1921, who wanted to run. On October 5, 1922, the Reich government proposed December 3, 1922 as election day. However, some government parties such as the Catholic Center feared that the popular election could lead to riots. In addition, in her opinion, the outcome of the election was uncertain. The opposition right-wing liberal German People's Party , on which a two-thirds majority depended, was concerned about Hindenburg's possible candidacy for the conservative German National People's Party . The leadership of the DVP rejected Hindenburg, but feared that many supporters would vote for him. This led to a compromise that resulted in the law of October 27th.

The Reichstag passed the law on October 24, 1922 with a two-thirds majority to change the constitution (314 votes against 76 votes from DNVP and KPD). The Reichsrat agreed, so that the law could be promulgated in the Reichsgesetzblatt on October 27th. It came into effect immediately. The law refers to Art. 180 WRV, in which it originally stated:

“Until the first Reichstag meets, the National Assembly is considered the Reichstag. Until the first Reich President takes office, his office is held by the Reich President elected on the basis of the law on provisional authority . "

The 1922 law changed the second sentence to:

"The Reich President elected by the National Assembly will hold office until June 30, 1925."

criticism

The law and the constitutional amendment have been criticized many times. The regulation of the term of office contradicted the general norm in the constitution that the Reich President should be elected by the people. Seen in the contents of the law as a constitutional breakthrough to look at, so as a departure from the general constitutional provision for (here) an individual control. The people were denied, at least temporarily, the democratic right to choose the head of state. This endangered the credibility of the constitution and the Reichstag.

In the literature it is sometimes said that the law extended or shortened Ebert's term of office. Neither can be formally asserted, as originally no end was intended.

See also

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume VI: The Weimar Imperial Constitution. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1981, pp. 311/312.
  2. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume VI: The Weimar Imperial Constitution. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1981, p. 312.