Law requiring approval
Laws that require approval (including approval laws ) in Germany are those federal laws that, after the legislative decision by the German Bundestag, also require the consent of the Bundesrat . These laws are only passed with a majority of votes in the Federal Council (currently 35 votes). In contrast, objection laws initially require the same majority in order to convene the mediation committee . If the Bundesrat objects to the law after mediation, it can be rejected by a majority in the German Bundestag.
The Basic Law finally regulates which laws require the approval of the Federal Council . The regulations are (without transitional law, practically or politically relevant highlighted):
- Art. 16a para. 3 (Determination of safe countries of origin within the meaning of the asylum law )
- Art. 23 para. 1 sentence 2 (transfer of sovereign rights to supranational European institutions)
- Art. 23 para. 7 (procedural rules for the participation of the states in the area of the European Union )
- Art. 29 para. 7 ( changes to the territories of the federal states )
- Art. 73 para. 2 (Laws on the defense against threats from international terrorism )
- Art. 74 para. 2 (Laws on state liability and the status of civil servants and judges of the federal states, municipalities, etc.)
- Art. 77 para. 2 sentence 2 (joint rules of procedure of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat for the committee under Article 77 of the Basic Law (mediation committee))
- Art. 79 para. 2 ( amendments to the Basic Law , 2/3 majority)
- Art. 84 para. 1 (Establishment of the authorities and the administrative procedure for the implementation of federal laws)
- Art. 84 para. 5 (authorization of the federal government to issue individual instructions for the implementation of federal laws)
- Art. 85 para. 1 sentence 1 (establishment of the authorities and the administrative procedure for order management)
- Art. 87b para. 1 (Determination of competencies of the Bundeswehr administration in certain cases)
- Art. 87c (introduction of afederal contract administration under nuclear law )
- Art. 87d para. 2 (introduction of afederal contract administration under aviation law )
- Art. 87e para. 5 (basic regulations under railway law )
- Art. 87f para. 1 ( Post and telecommunications)
- Art. 91a para. 2 (structuring of joint tasks)
- Art. 96 para. 5 ( Lending of organs within the framework of federal criminal jurisdiction)
- Art. 104a Para. 4 (Laws that establish claims to monetary or monetary benefits to the detriment of the federal states)
- Art. 104a para. 5, 6 (liability regulations in the relationship between the federal government and the states)
- Art. 104b para. 2 (Federal investment aid for the states)
- Art. 105 Para. 3 (Laws on taxes, the revenue of which flows in whole or in part to the federal states or municipalities)
- Art. 106 para. 3, 4, 5a (distribution of sales tax revenue )
- Art. 106 para. 5 (Participation of the municipalities in income tax revenue )
- Art. 106 para. 6 (Distribution of trade tax revenue )
- Art. 106a (Earmarked participation of the federal states in the federal tax revenue - local public transport )
- Art. 108 para. 2, 4, 5 (regulations on state tax authorities and cooperation with federal tax authorities)
- Art. 109 para. 3, 4 ( budgetary principles )
- Art. 109 para. 5 (liability regulations in the relationship between the federal government and the states, cf. also Art. 104a para. 5, 6)
The strong position of the Federal Council in the federal parliamentary system has been a central design feature of its federal system since the Federal Republic was founded, and is understood as a compensation for the extensive transfer of legislative powers to the federal government .
However, since the 1990s, when majorities of opposing political directions faced each other more often in the Bundestag and Bundesrat, this form of development came under increasing criticism in political disputes (keyword “ blockade policy ”). As part of the 2006 federalism reform, one of the aims pursued was to limit the need for approval of laws. The means for this was the amendment of Article 84.1 of the Basic Law. According to the original version of this provision, every federal law that regulated the competence of state authorities or the administrative procedure before them was a consent law. Since, according to the principle of Art. 83 GG, federal laws are generally implemented by the states , this provision affected a large number of federal laws. The need for consent could only be avoided by completely renouncing the relevant jurisdiction and procedural provisions (according to the so-called unitary theory established by the Federal Constitutional Court , the entire law requires consent, even if only a small part triggers the need for consent).
After the amendment of Art. 84 GG, the federal government can now make corresponding regulations through a mere objection law. The federal states, on the other hand, have the right to deviate from these regulations. In this respect, the federal regulation can be understood as a standard regulation. If, on the other hand, it is to be binding, this is again only possible through a consent law.
The actual effect of this new regulation was controversial in the prognoses, the scientific services of the German Bundestag assumed a significant reduction. In the period from 2006 to 2017, the proportion of laws requiring approval was 38%, which is a significant decrease compared to more than 50% before the federalism reform.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Federal Council - Statistics , accessed May 4, 2020
