Constituent Reichstag

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Drawing for the first session of the constituent Reichstag on February 24, 1867

The constituent Reichstag from February to April 1867 was a body for the constitutional agreement . North German and central German states had agreed in the August alliance in 1866 that they wanted to give their alliance a constitutional basis. This meant the establishment of the North German Confederation as a federal state . The constitution of the North German Confederation was to be agreed, on the one hand between the future member states and on the other hand with the North German people.

The people were represented by the constituent Reichstag. This Reichstag had only one task: to discuss and approve the draft constitution of the allied governments. Strictly speaking, the body was not a constituent assembly , but a constitutional assembly, because the constitution was only made jointly with the alliance states. The body was also not a parliament , as it passed no laws or had other parliamentary tasks.

Basics

The politically secure basis for the election and task of the Reichstag was rather poor. In the August alliance of August 18, 1866 (and other treaties) there was only talk of a “parliament” that was to be called “jointly” (Art. 2). The basis for the election should be the Frankfurt Reich Election Act of 1849 (Art. 5). In addition, the governments of the allied governments should draw up a draft constitution that is to be submitted to parliament for “discussion and agreement” (also Article 5). In the contract text of the August alliance, there was neither a name for the parliament nor the state to be founded, i.e. neither “Reichstag” nor “North German Confederation”.

The Frankfurt National Assembly was elected by the member states under the law of the German Confederation . From May 1848 to May 1849, when it was opposed by Prussia and other states, it met in Frankfurt . One result, apart from the Frankfurt constitution , was the Reich Election Act of April 12, 1849. The first ordinary Reichstag, or the People's House, should have been elected on July 15.

The Reich Election Act of 1849 was valid according to Reich law at the time . However, the states had not recognized it after 1849. In 1866 a north German federal law would actually have been required for the election of such a federal body. However, there was still no north German federal state that could have passed laws. Instead, the allied states enacted identical state laws for the election.

This meant that in Prussia and the other allied states, the state parliaments decided on the electoral laws. There were many liberals in the Prussian state parliament who wanted a unified national state: they therefore did not like the federalist path to becoming a federal state. They also considered a north German parliament next to the state parliament to be superfluous, the other states should simply elect members to the existing state parliament. Right-wing liberals and conservatives were also bothered by the universal male suffrage , as provided for by the Frankfurt suffrage.

In general, the Prussian state parliament members found that a north German federal constitution could only come into force if the state parliament approved it. After all, Prussia and thus the state parliament would lose rights at the federal level. The two chambers of the state parliament pushed through an amendment to the draft electoral law: the north German Reichstag should only meet for “consultation”. Although this did not correspond to the agreements of the August alliance, it did not change the timetable for the constitutional agreement. It was noteworthy that both chambers accepted universal male suffrage, although the mansion raised concerns about it in a resolution. This (Prussian) electoral law for the Reichstag of the North German Confederation was put into effect on October 15, 1866 by the Prussian king . The other states passed corresponding electoral laws and ordinances.

The term Reichstag comes from the Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire . In the two constitutional drafts of 1849, too, the parliament was to be called the “Reichstag”, although the parliament of the emerging German Reich from 1848/1849 was still called “National Assembly” or “Reich Assembly” and the constitutional body of the Erfurt Union was finally called “ Union Parliament ”. In 1866 Otto von Bismarck had already referred to the Frankfurt Reich election law in his reform plan for the German Confederation . In that law, the parliament to be elected was called the “Reichstag”. In other countries in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries, the modern parliament was given a historicizing designation, for example " States General " in the Netherlands or " Seimas " in Lithuania.

Choice and composition

Reichstag election February 1867 , with the results of the individual constituencies

The actual election took place on February 12, 1867. Since the election was direct, there was no need for electors to meet. However, runoff elections were necessary in 30 constituencies (15.6 percent) , and in three cases there was a by-election . The party system was the same as in the Prussian elections , but for the first time since 1848 all Prussian men were eligible to vote again. In the other countries, opponents of the state were faced with the question of whether to boycott the election. As a rule, they decided to participate in order to be able to represent their views in the Reichstag; However, this tied them into federal politics. In the border regions with Polish and Danish minorities, there was a comparison of “German” candidates and representatives of the minority.

The voter turnout was high at 64.9 percent, compared to the Prussian elections according to the three-class suffrage and, above all, in view of some difficulties: There was little time to search for candidates and to campaign. Many parties have so far been poorly organized and geared towards addressing rich active citizens, not towards a general popular election and the new voting mode. Many voters in the country were poorly educated and lost half a working day, and the election took place in winter.

As before, members of the elite, well-known dignitaries , were primarily elected . The Liberals had already expected that they would not be able to maintain their high results as in the Prussian three-class suffrage. Their sometimes heavy losses, especially in the Prussian East, were to some extent offset by gains in the annexed areas and the non-Prussian federal states. Conservatives in both directions benefited from universal suffrage. The constituent Reichstag had a total of 297 members and was dominated by the center-right: Free Conservatives , Old Liberals and National Liberals as well as smaller liberal or moderate-conservative groups and individual members. On February 24, 1867, the Constituent Reichstag by the Prussian king was William I opened.

Activity for the constitution

Government draft

The road to the constitution 1866/1867

After several preliminary drafts, Bismarck, as Prussian Prime Minister, presented a draft constitution to the allied governments. They all finally agreed on February 7, 1867 on a joint draft that was to be submitted to the Reichstag. Bismarck did this on March 4th. The allied governments were faced with a Reichstag that asserted its dissenting opinions with expert knowledge and discipline. This was true of both the opposition and the National Liberals and Free Conservatives. Bismarck had warned the MPs that on August 18, 1867, the one-year deadline set by the August alliance ended. The MPs themselves were in favor of swift constitutional deliberations; this took place in plenary, contrary to an unsuccessful proposal by the Progressive Party to set up a commission.

Bismarck had already secretly proposed an alternative to the allied governments on February 19 if the Reichstag should reject the government's draft or amend it too much: The governments could then allow the federal constitution to come into force as a state treaty, i.e. impose it. On March 31st there was even a corresponding secret treaty between the largest states, namely Prussia, Saxony, Saxe-Weimar and Hesse-Darmstadt, in which the enforcement was kept open.

Changes to the draft

Rudolf von Bennigsen was one of the leading national liberals of the time. His amendment proposal (actually not a lex , but an amendment ) introduced ministerial responsibility into the constitution.

The draft constitution did not meet any specific counter-drafts. However, it has been modified on a number of important points. The most important concerned the executive; According to Klaus Erich Pollmann, Bismarck's proposal would have withdrawn “any parliamentary access”. The executive body should be the Federal Council, i.e. the representation of the member states. The Reichstag, however, with the so-called Lex Bennigsen , enforced that there was a responsible minister (not in name, but in substance), the Federal Chancellor.

In addition, the federal government and the Reichstag received more powers:

  • The federal government became responsible for the law of citizenship ,
  • was allowed to raise not only indirect but also direct taxes,
  • received full budget rights ,
  • became responsible not only for commercial law, bill of exchange law, bankruptcy law and civil procedural law, but also for all civil and criminal law and criminal procedural law .
  • Foreign treaties required the approval of the Reichstag, at least to a considerable extent.
  • The constituent Reichstag only partially prevailed with its ideas of influencing the army organization.

The constituent Reichstag was unable to assert itself on a number of other points. Other controversial issues suffered from a disagreement in the Reichstag itself. The MPs rejected the introduction of diets with a narrow majority of 136 to 130 votes . The majority also rejected fundamental rights in the federal constitution, for several reasons. They contented themselves with the fact that the basic rights were already guaranteed in almost all state constitutions and were primarily to be protected against the state administrations. A national liberal proposal to include at least a minimum of basic rights in the federal constitution failed with 130 votes to 128. Likewise, the proponents of a Federal Constitutional Court did not prevail.

Adoption and entry into force

The Reichstag accepted the draft with the changes it had decided on on April 16. 230 MPs voted for him, 53 against them (progress, state constitutionals , minorities). On the same day, the representatives of the states accepted the amended draft. After that it was up to the state parliaments whether they would accept it, because the federal constitution had an impact on the rights of the states. Several countries had announced that the approval of the electoral law at that time was sufficient. But all countries except Braunschweig let their parliaments vote.

Between June 21 and June 27, the federal states put the federal constitution into effect through publication patents. The constitution came into effect on July 1st. On July 27th it appeared in the Federal Law Gazette , but it was only declarative.

After the final vote on April 16, 1867, the constituent Reichstag had one final session on April 17. In the White Hall of the royal palace, King Wilhelm read a statement to the deputies. Afterwards, Bismarck, as chairman of the Reichstag commissioners, declared the Reichstag closed. The first ordinary Reichstag of the North German Confederation was elected on August 31, 1867.

Classification and evaluation

The President of the constituent Reichstag, Eduard Simson , with his Vice-Presidents, March 1867

In general, Klaus Erich Pollmann's verdict on the Reichstag of the North German Confederation has made great progress towards liberalization in line with the Prussian federal leadership. The Reichstag was unable to assert itself against the powerful state governments on the major issues at stake. The Reichstag was a working parliament that tended to reject declamatory speeches and political debates.

Despite the same name, there was a big difference between the constituent Reichstag (elected in February 1867) and the ordinary Reichstag (elected in August): The constituent Reichstag was merely a constitutional body. It was not burdened with legislation and government control because there was no state that could have law and government. This is reminiscent of the Erfurt Union Parliament of March / April 1850, just as the public law expert Michael Kotulla also stated that the way in which the constitution was passed in 1848/50 and 1867/71 was similar. Likewise, the Parliamentary Council of 1948/49 could concentrate solely on advising the constitution. The Frankfurt National Assembly in 1848/1849 and the Weimar National Assembly in 1919/20, on the other hand, had to perform many of the functions of a modern parliament. This has to be taken into account when referring to the short duration of the constituent Reichstag.

See also

swell

  • Ernst Rudolf Huber : Documents on German constitutional history. Volume 2: German constitutional documents 1851–1900. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1986, No. 197 (No. 186) Electoral law for the constituent Reichstag of the North German Confederation of October 15, 1866 , pp. 270/271.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ See the derivation from the contract text Ernst Rudolf Huber : Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the Reich. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1988, p. 646.
  2. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1988, p. 668.
  3. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1988, pp. 646/647.
  4. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1988, pp. 647/648.
  5. ↑ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867–1870 , Düsseldorf: Droste Verlag, 1985, p. 138.
  6. ↑ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867-1870. Droste, Düsseldorf 1985, pp. 102-104, 110.
  7. ↑ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867-1870. Droste, Düsseldorf 1985, pp. 139/140.
  8. ↑ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867-1870. Droste, Düsseldorf 1985, pp. 144-146.
  9. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [u. a.] 1988, pp. 648/649.
  10. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart a. a. 1988, pp. 651-653.
  11. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart a. a. 1988, pp. 654/655.
  12. ↑ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867-1870 , Düsseldorf: Droste Verlag, 1985, p. 199.
  13. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart a. a. 1988, pp. 663-665.
  14. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart a. a. 1988, pp. 664-666.
  15. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart a. a. 1988, pp. 666/667.
  16. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart a. a., 1988, p. 667.
  17. ^ Protocols of the Reichstag , accessed on June 6, 2016.
  18. ^ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867-1870 , Düsseldorf: Droste Verlag, 1985, p. 515.
  19. ^ Michael Kotulla: German constitutional history. From the Old Reich to Weimar (1495–1934) . Springer, Berlin 2008, p. 491.
  20. ↑ See Martin Kirsch , Monarch and Parliament in the 19th Century. Monarchical constitutionalism as a European type of constitution - France in comparison. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1999, p. 318 ff.