Political Parties Act (GDR)
The Political Parties Act of GDR was after the turn of February 21, 1990 from the People's Chamber approved and regulated the legal status of the parties in the final months of the GDR.
background
After the DC circuit of the democratic political parties in the late 1940s, these were block parties become, the more had no means to participate in the political process. The SED, on the other hand, had become a state party that was closely linked to and overriding state institutions.
After the Peaceful Revolution in 1989, the first free parliamentary elections took place on March 18, 1990 . The prerequisite for this free choice was the legal safeguarding of the right of citizens to form parties and to participate in elections and to guarantee equal opportunities for the parties. For this purpose, the party law was passed by the (old, not yet freely elected) People's Chamber.
Content
Essential and new was initially the right of citizens to form parties as defined in Section 3: "The formation of parties is free and does not require approval". A special feature arose from the division of Germany . Foreign nationals who are in the German Democratic Republic with a residence permit or permit could also become members of the parties (Section 4 (2)). This made it possible for Germans from the Federal Republic (which, according to GDR law, were foreign countries) to participate in the parties.
The special status of the SED was abolished in Section 6. "Insofar as state organs, state-owned companies and state institutions grant or grant a party services or other benefits, all other parties are entitled to equal treatment." This regulation meant that the newly founded parties, such as the Democratic Awakening, acquired the right to space and access to printing capacities and media.
The other regulations corresponded to the western party laws: The parties had to be structured democratically and have a statute. The party is represented by the board. The highest body is the general assembly or the party congress that elects the executive committee (§ 10 (3)) and decides on the dissolution of the party (§ 13).
The parties are obliged to submit accounts for their assets and income. Since the new parties, unlike the SED and the bloc parties, had no assets at their disposal, a financial grant from the state was set.
Changes
The party law was modified several times by the freely elected People's Chamber and largely made obsolete by the Unification Treaty.
The amendment of July 22, 1990, after which a new § 13a was inserted, which allowed the merger of the GDR parties with the West German parties, was essential. The resulting pan-German parties became universal successors of the predecessor parties.
As early as May 31, 1990, the Independent Commission to review the assets of the parties and mass organizations of the GDR was created with §§ 20a and 20b, which should create a new regulation of the assets of parties and associations of the GDR .