District council
The council is in Germany , the municipal people's representatives at the level of counties (districts).
position
The establishment of district assemblies is regulated in detail in the local law of the states in fulfillment of the legislative mandate from Article 28 paragraph 1 sentence 2 of the Basic Law. The district councils are neither parliaments nor legislative organs . Rather, the district councils, as organs of the local self-government of the districts, belong to the executive (like city and community councils).
Competencies
According to all municipal constitutions in Germany, the district council is always the main body of the district. It decides on all fundamental matters of the district and can establish principles for the administration of the district ( authority to issue guidelines ). In contrast to this, the district administrator carries out the day-to-day business and executes the decisions of the district council.
The decision-making options of the district council are limited to the district's own and assigned tasks. In so far as the district has not been entrusted with all state tasks ( full communalisation ), the district council, however, cannot decide on the work of the state part of the district administrator or district office .
composition
The district council is basically composed of members elected by the district citizens (including EU foreigners) in general, free, direct, equal and secret elections . The electoral term lasts five years in most federal states and six years in Bavaria .
In some countries, in addition to the honorary members, the full-time main administrative officer of the district ( district administrator ) also belongs to the district council. It should be noted that the former dual leadership of full-time senior district director and then honorary district administrator has now been abolished in the last two states (North Rhine-Westphalia: 1994, Lower Saxony: 1996) according to the North German council constitution .
In some countries, the district council presides over the district council; in other countries, a separate chairman of the district council, district council president or district president is elected from among the (other) members .
The (remaining) members of the district council are sometimes referred to as members of the district council, honorary members of the district council, district council members, district councilors or district council members. The designation as district council member is misleading insofar as the members of the district councils, unlike the members of the Bundestag and state parliaments, are not parliamentarians and do not enjoy political immunity .
The country-specific differences in the composition and chairmanship of the district council are shown in the table below:
| country | State legal regulation | Designation of the administrative body at the district level | Composition of the district council | Presidency of the district council |
| Baden-Württemberg | District regulations for Baden-Württemberg | district | District councilors and district administrators | District Administrator |
| Bavaria | District regulations for the Free State of Bavaria | district | District councilors and district administrators | District Administrator |
| Brandenburg | Municipal constitution for the state of Brandenburg | district | District delegate and district administrator | Chairman of the district assembly (from among the district assembly members) |
| Hesse | Hessian district regulation | district | District council member (without district administrator) | Chairman of the district assembly (from among the district assembly members) |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | Municipal constitution for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | district | District council members (without district administrator) | District Council President (from the middle of the District Council) |
| Lower Saxony | Lower Saxony Municipal Constitutional Law | district | District delegate and district administrator | Chairman of the district assembly (from among the district assembly members) |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | District regulations for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia | circle | District council members (without district administrator) | District Administrator |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | District regulation for Rhineland-Palatinate | district | District council members and district administrator | District Administrator |
| Saarland | Local Self-Government Act | district | Members of the district council (excluding the district administrator) | District Administrator |
| Saxony | District regulations for the Free State of Saxony | district | District councilors and district administrators | District Administrator |
| Saxony-Anhalt | District regulations for the state of Saxony-Anhalt | district | Honorary members of the district council and district administrator | Chairman of the district assembly (from among the honorary members of the district assembly) |
| Schleswig-Holstein | District order for Schleswig-Holstein | circle | District council member (without district administrator) | District President (from among the district council members) |
| Thuringia | Thuringian local authority | district | District council members and district administrator | District Administrator |
Committees
The district council, as compulsory committees according to most state regulations, forms the district committee as the most important committee and the audit committee, as well as the youth welfare committee according to federal law. He can set up further committees for certain areas of responsibility to prepare his resolutions or to take a final decision.
City region day
The counterpart to the district council in the Aachen city region, which has existed since 2009, is the city region day. It has 72 members. In addition, there is the city region council , which is chairman.
Web links
- https://www.landkreistag.de/index.php/lösungen-der-kreise accessed March 8, 2020
Individual evidence
- ^ State law BW LKrO | State standard Baden-Württemberg | Landkreisordnung for Baden-Württemberg (Landkreisordnung - LKrO) in the version of June 19, 1987 | valid from: 06.06.1987. Retrieved June 17, 2020 .
- ↑ Kreisordnung für Schleswig-Holstein (Kreisordnung - KrO -) , In: gesetze-rechtsprechung.sh.juris.de , Version: February 28, 2003, accessed on May 3, 2020.
