State constitution for the principalities of Waldeck and Pyrmont
The state constitution for the principalities of Waldeck and Pyrmont of May 23, 1849 was the constitution of the principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont from 1849 to 1852.
Emergence
The March Revolution also hit Waldeck-Pyrmont. On April 3, 1848, regent Emma convened the estates to pass an electoral law for the newly elected Waldeck-Pyrmonter Landtag . Two representatives of Pyrmont were invited to this. The result of the deliberations was the state constitution for the principalities of Waldeck and Pyrmont of May 23, 1849. This constitution, conceived by Wolrad Schumacher , provided for a largely unified state of Waldeck-Pyrmont, whose legislature was to be a state parliament made up of 15 democratically elected members. However, separate national budgets should continue to exist for both principalities.
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Title 1 - State territory
The principalities of Waldeck and Pyrmont were declared a common national territory. A change of this status required the approval of the entire state parliament.
Title 2 - Fundamental Rights
The catalog of fundamental rights was very progressive for its time. The nobility as a class was abolished as well as the death penalty in peacetime, the patrimonial jurisdiction and the family fideikomisse . The March demands were met in full.
Title 3 - Local Constitution
The free self-government of the districts and communities and the free election of community representatives and mayors were guaranteed.
Title 4 - Representation of the people
A state parliament was set up to represent the people . Laws required the approval of the Prince and the Landtag. The state parliament had the right to initiate legislation and the right to budget. The deputies were elected in a secret ballot in one-person constituencies .
At the same time, a special state parliament for the Principality of Pyrmont was elected in Pyrmont in 1848. This state parliament, consisting of 5 members, also approved the constitution. It existed until the state budgets were unified in 1863/65.
Title 5 - The Prince
The prince forms the executive branch of the principality. The ministerial responsibility is guaranteed: Decrees of the prince required the countersignature by a member of the state government. The state government is appointed by the prince. The prince was commander-in-chief of the army and worked together with the state parliament to legislate. It convenes the state parliament and can dissolve it. In the case of the dissolution of the state parliament, new elections were planned.
Title 6 - State Government
The state government was appointed by the prince and responsible to him. The members of the state government had the right and the duty to appear before the state parliament. The ministerial indictment was possible.
Title 7 - Case Law
Judicial independence, the publicity of judicial proceedings, the election of judges and the separation of the judiciary from the administration were introduced. Privileged jurisdictions were abolished. Jury courts were provided for criminal proceedings . Important for the small country was the principle that foreign judgments should be recognized and enforced.
Title 8 - Armed Force
Regular troops were intended as part of a (to be created) German army. In addition, a people's armed forces were to be set up, in which the officers and non-commissioned officers were to be elected by the men.
Title 9 - Financial Management
This section of the constitution was particularly extensive, as the state finances had been in a precarious position for decades due to the very high national debt. It was regulated that the finances of the principalities of Waldeck and Pyrmont should be treated separately, that taxes should be re-regulated in such a way that the preferential treatment of individual classes and goods should end. The two state parliaments were entitled to tax approval and budget law. The same was true for taking out new debt or issuing cash receipts .
Further regulations
Title 10 described the role of civil servants, Title 11 general provisions and Title 12 transitional provisions.
End of the Constitution
Prince Georg Viktor he refused to recognize the constitution passed as a result of the revolution of 1848/49 and only took over the regency after a constitutional amendment that was acceptable to him on August 17, 1852. The new constitution was the constitutional charter for the principalities of Waldeck and Pyrmont .
literature
- State constitution for the principalities of Waldeck and Pyrmont of May 23, 1849 (Reg.-Bl. 27), digitized
- Constitutional charter for the principalities of Waldeck and Pyrmont dated August 17, 1852 (Reg.-Bl. 141), digitized
- A. Rauch, Parliamentary paperback containing the constitution ... , Erlangen, 1849, ( limited preview in the Google book search) p. 168 ff.
- Gerhard Menk: From feudal agrarian state to liberal constitutional state: Waldeck 1848/49; in: Klaus Böhme, Bernd Heidenreich (eds.): “Unity and Law and Freedom”: The revolution of 1848/49 in the state of Hesse, 2013, ISBN 9783322833402 , p. 59 ff.