German Federal

PDF generated: 17 Jul 2014, 14:33
constituteproject.org
German Federal Republic's

Constitution of 1949 with
Amendments through 2012
This complete constitution has been generated

from excerpts of texts from the repository of the
Comparative Constitutions Project, and distributed on
constituteproject.org.
constituteproject.org PDF generated: 17 Jul 2014, 14:33
Table of contents
Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
I. Basic Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Article 1: [Human dignity - Human rights - Legally binding force of basic rights] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Article 2: [Personal freedoms] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Article 3: [Equality before the law] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Article 4: [Freedom of faith and conscience] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Article 5: [Freedom of expression, arts and sciences] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Article 6: [Marriage - Family - Children] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Article 7: [School system] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Article 8: [Freedom of assembly] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Article 9: [Freedom of association] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Article 10: [Privacy of correspondence, posts and telecommunications] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Article 11: [Freedom of movement] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Article 12: [Occupational freedom] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Article 12a: [Compulsory military and alternative civilian service] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Article 13: [Inviolability of the home] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Article 14: [Property - Inheritance - Expropriation] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Article 15: [Socialisation] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Article 16: [Citizenship - Extradition] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Article 16a: [Right of asylum] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Article 17: [Right of petition] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Article 17a: [Restriction of basic rights in specific instances] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Article 18: [Forfeiture of basic rights] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 19: [Restriction of basic rights - Legal remedies] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
II. The Federation and the Länder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 20: [Constitutional principles - Right of resistance] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 20a: [Protection of the natural foundations of life and animals] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 21: [Political parties] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Article 22: [Federal capital - Federal flag] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Article 23: [European Union - Protection of basic rights - Principle of subsidiarity] . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Article 24: [Transfer of sovereign powers - System of collective security] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Article 25: [Primacy of international law] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Article 26: [Securing international peace] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Article 27: [Merchant fleet] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Article 28: [Land constitutions - Autonomy of municipalities] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Article 29: [New delimitation of the federal territory] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Article 30: [Sovereign powers of the Länder] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 31: [Supremacy of federal law] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 32: [Foreign relations] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 33: [Equal citizenship - Public service] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 34: [Liability for violation of official duty] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 2

Article 35: [Legal and administrative assistance and assistance during disasters] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Article 36: [Personnel of federal authorities] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Article 37: [Federal execution] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
III. The Bundestag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 38: [Elections] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 39: [Electoral term - Convening] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 40: [Presidency - Rules of procedure] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 41: [Scrutiny of elections] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 42: [Public sittings - Majority decisions] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 43: [Right to require presence, right of access and right to be heard] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Article 44: [Committees of inquiry] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Article 45: [Committee on the European Union] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Article 45a: [Committees on Foreign Affairs and Defence] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Article 45b: [Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Article 45c: [Petitions Committee] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Article 45d: [Parliamentary Control Panel] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Article 46: [Immunities of Members] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Article 47: [Right of refusal to give evidence] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Article 48: [Candidature - Protection of membership - Remuneration] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
IV. The Bundesrat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Article 50: [Functions] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Article 51: [Composition - Weighted voting] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Article 52: [President - Decisions - Rules of procedure] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Article 53: [Attendance of members of the Federal Government] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
IVa: The Joint Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Article 53a: [Composition - Rules of procedure] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
V. The Federal President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Article 54: [Election - Term of office] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Article 55: [Incompatibilities] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Article 56: [Oath of office] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Article 57: [Substitution] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Article 58: [Countersignature] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Article 59: [Representation of the Federation for the purposes of international law] . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Article 60: [Appointment of civil servants - Pardon - Immunity] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Article 61: [Impeachment before the Federal Constitutional Court] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
VI. The Federal Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Article 62: [Composition] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Article 63: [Election of the Federal Chancellor] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Article 64: [Appointment and dismissal of Federal Ministers - Oath of office] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Article 65: [Power to determine policy guidelines - Department and collegiate responsibility] . . . . 26
Article 65a: [Command of the Armed Forces] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Article 66: [Incompatibilities] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Article 67: [Vote of no confidence] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Article 68: [Vote of confidence] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Article 69: [Deputy Federal Chancellor - Term of office] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
VII. Federal Legislation and Legislative Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Article 70: [Division of powers between the Federation and the Länder] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Article 71: [Exclusive legislative power of the Federation] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Article 72: [Concurrent legislative powers] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Article 73: [Matters under exclusive legislative power of the Federation] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Article 74: [Matters under concurrent legislative powers] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Article 76: [Bills] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Article 77: [Legislative procedure - Mediation Committee] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Article 78: [Passage of federal laws] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Article 79: [Amendment of the Basic Law] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Article 80: [Issuance of statutory instruments] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Article 80a: [State of tension] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Article 81: [Legislative emergency] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Article 82: [Certification - Promulgation - Entry into force] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
VIII. The Execution of Federal Laws and the Federal Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Article 83: [Execution by the Länder] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Article 84: [Länder administration - Federal oversight] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Article 85: [Execution by the Länder on federal commission] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Article 86: [Federal administration] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Article 87: [Matters] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Article 87a: [Armed Forces] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Article 87b: [Federal Defence Administration] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Article 87c: [Production and utilisation of nuclear energy] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Article 87d: [Air transport administration] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Article 87e: [Rail transport administration] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Article 87f: [Posts and telecommunications] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Article 88: [The Federal Bank - The European Central Bank] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Article 89: [Federal waterways - Administration of waterways] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Article 90: [Federal highways] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Article 91: [Internal emergency] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
VIIIa: Joint Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Article 91a: [Joint tasks - Responsibility for expenditure] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Article 91b: [Education programmes and promotion of research] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Article 91c: [Information technology systems] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Article 91d: [Comparison of performance] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Article 91e: [Cooperation in respect of basic support for persons seeking employment] . . . . . . . . . 40
IX. The Judiciary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Article 92: [Court organisation] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Article 93: [Jurisdiction of the Federal Constitutional Court] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Article 94: [Composition of the Federal Constitutional Court] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Article 95: [Supreme federal courts] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Article 96: [Other federal courts] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Article 97: [Judicial independence] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Article 98: [Legal status of judges - Impeachment] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Article 99: [Constitutional disputes within a Land] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Article 100: [Concrete judicial review] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Article 101: [Ban on extraordinary courts] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Article 102: [Abolition of capital punishment] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Article 103: [Fair trial] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Article 104: [Deprivation of liberty] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
X. Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Article 104a: [Apportionment of expenditures - Financial system - Liability] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Article 104b: [Financial assistance for investments] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Article 105: [Distribution of powers regarding tax laws] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Article 106: [Apportionment of tax revenue and yield of fiscal monopolies] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Article 106a: [Federal grants for local mass transit] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Article 106b: [Länder share of motor vehicle tax] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Article 107: [Distribution of tax revenue - Financial equalisation among the Länder -
Supplementary grants] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Article 108: [Financial administration of the Federation and the Länder - Financial courts] . . . . . . . 48
Article 109: [Budget management in the Federation and the Länder] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Article 109a: [Budgetary emergencies] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Article 110: [Federal budget] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Article 111: [Interim budget management] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Article 112: [Extrabudgetary expenditures] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Article 113: [Increase of expenditures] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Article 114: [Submission and auditing of accounts] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Article 115: [Limits of borrowing] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Xa. State of Defence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Article 115a: [Declaration of state of defence] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Article 115b: [Power of command of the Federal Chancellor] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Article 115c: [Extension of the legislative powers of the Federation] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Article 115d: [Urgent bills] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Article 115e: [Joint Committee] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Article 115f: [Use of Federal Border Police - Extended powers of instruction] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Article 115g: [Federal Constitutional Court] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Article 115h: [Expiry of electoral terms and terms of office] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Article 115i: [Powers of the Land governments] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Article 115k: [Rank and duration of emergency provisions] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Article 115l: [Repeal of emergency measures - Conclusion of peace] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
XI. Transitional and Concluding Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Article 116: [Definition of "German" - Restoration of citizenship] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Article 117: [Suspended entry into force of two basic rights] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Article 118: [New delimitation of Baden and Württemberg] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Article 118a: [New delimitation of Berlin and Brandenburg] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Article 119: [Refugees and expellees] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Article 120: [Occupation costs - Burdens resulting from the war] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Article 120a: [Equalisation of burdens] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Article 121: [Definition of "majority of the members"] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Article 122: [Date of transmission of legislative powers] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Article 123: [Continued applicability of pre-existing law] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Article 124: [Continued applicability of law within the scope of exclusive legislative power] . . . . . . 58
Article 125: [Continued applicability of law within the scope of concurrent legislative power] . . . . 58
Article 125a: [Continued applicability of federal law - Replacement by Land law] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Article 125b: [Continued applicability of framework laws - Deviation power of the Länder] . . . . . . 58
Article 125c: [Continued applicability of law within the scope of joint tasks] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Article 126: [Determination about continued applicability of law as federal law] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Article 127: [Extension of law to the French zone and to Berlin] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Article 128: [Continued authority to issue instructions] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Article 129: [Continued authority to issue legal acts] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Article 130: [Transfer of existing administrative institutions] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Article 131: [Persons formerly in the public service] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Article 132: [Retirement of civil servants] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Article 133: [Succession to the Administration of the Combined Economic Area] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Article 134: [Succession to Reich assets] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Article 135: [Assets in case of territorial changes between the Länder] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Article 135a: [Old debts] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Article 136: [First convening of the Bundesrat] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Article 137: [Right of state employees to stand for election] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Article 138: [South German notaries] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Article 139: [Continued applicability of denazification provisions] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Article 140: [Law of religious denominations] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Article 141: ["Bremen Clause"] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Article 142: [Reservation in favour of basic rights in Land constitutions] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Article 143: [Duration of deviations from the Basic Law] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Article 143a: [Exclusive legislative power concerning federal railways] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Article 143b: [Privatisation of the Deutsche Bundespost] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Article 143c: [Compensation for the cessation of joint tasks] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Article 143d: [Transitional provisions relating to consolidation assistance] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Article 144: [Ratification of the Basic Law - Berlin] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Article 145: [Entry into force of the Basic Law] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Article 146: [Duration of the Basic Law] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

• Source of constitutional authority

• Mention of God or other deities
Preamble
• Motives for writing constitution
• Right to self determination
Conscious of their responsibility before God and man, Inspired by the determination
to promote world peace as an equal partner in a united Europe, the German people,
in the exercise of their constituent power, have adopted this Basic Law. Germans in
the Länder of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen,
Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North
Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt,
Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia have achieved the unity and freedom of Germany
in free self-determination. This Basic Law thus applies to the entire German people.
I. Basic Rights
Article 1: [Human dignity - Human rights - Legally binding

force of basic rights]
1. Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all
state authority.
2. The German people therefore acknowledge inviolable and inalienable human
rights as the basis of every community, of peace and of justice in the world.
3. The following basic rights shall bind the legislature, the executive and the
judiciary as directly applicable law.
Article 2: [Personal freedoms]

1. Every person shall have the right to free development of his personality insofar as
he does not violate the rights of others or offend against the constitutional order or
the moral law.
2. Every person shall have the right to life and physical integrity. Freedom of the
person shall be inviolable. These rights may be interfered with only pursuant to a
law.
Article 3: [Equality before the law]

1. All persons shall be equal before the law.
2. Men and women shall have equal rights. The state shall promote the actual
implementation of equal rights for women and men and take steps to eliminate
disadvantages that now exist.
3. No person shall be favoured or disfavoured because of sex, parentage, race,
language, homeland and origin, faith, or religious or political opinions. No person
shall be disfavoured because of disability.
• Freedom of religion Article 4: [Freedom of faith and conscience]

1. Freedom of faith and of conscience, and freedom to profess a religious or
philosophical creed, shall be inviolable.
2. The undisturbed practice of religion shall be guaranteed.

3. No person shall be compelled against his conscience to render military service

involving the use of arms. Details shall be regulated by a federal law.
Article 5: [Freedom of expression, arts and sciences]

1. Every person shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his opinions in
speech, writing and pictures, and to inform himself without hindrance from generally
accessible sources. Freedom of the press and freedom of reporting by means of
broadcasts and films shall be guaranteed. There shall be no censorship.
2. These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions
for the protection of young persons, and in the right to personal honour.
3. Arts and sciences, research and teaching shall be free. The freedom of teaching
shall not release any person from allegiance to the constitution.
Article 6: [Marriage - Family - Children]

1. Marriage and the family shall enjoy the special protection of the state.
2. The care and upbringing of children is the natural right of parents and a duty
primarily incumbent upon them. The state shall watch over them in the performance
of this duty.
3. Children may be separated from their families against the will of their parents or
guardians only pursuant to a law, and only if the parents or guardians fail in their
duties or the children are otherwise in danger of serious neglect.
4. Every mother shall be entitled to the protection and care of the community.
5. Children born outside of marriage shall be provided by legislation with the same
opportunities for physical and mental development and for their position in society
as are enjoyed by those born within marriage.
Article 7: [School system]

1. The entire school system shall be under the supervision of the state.
2. Parents and guardians shall have the right to decide whether children shall
receive religious instruction.
3. Religious instruction shall form part of the regular curriculum in state schools,
with the exception of non-denominational schools. Without prejudice to the state's
right of supervision, religious instruction shall be given in accordance with the tenets
of the religious community concerned. Teachers may not be obliged against their will
to give religious instruction.
4. The right to establish private schools shall be guaranteed. Private schools that
serve as alternatives to state schools shall require the approval of the state and shall
be subject to the laws of the Länder. Such approval shall be given when private
schools are not inferior to the state schools in terms of their educational aims, their
facilities, or the professional training of their teaching staff, and when segregation of
pupils according to the means of their parents will not be encouraged thereby.
Approval shall be withheld if the economic and legal position of the teaching staff is
not adequately assured.
5. A private elementary school shall be approved only if the educational authority
finds that it serves a special pedagogical interest or if, on the application of parents
or guardians, it is to be established as a denominational or interdenominational
school or as a school based on a particular philosophy and no state elementary
school of that type exists in the municipality.

6. Preparatory schools shall remain abolished.
Article 8: [Freedom of assembly]

1. All Germans shall have the right to assemble peacefully and unarmed without
prior notification or permission.
2. In the case of outdoor assemblies, this right may be restricted by or pursuant to a
law.
Article 9: [Freedom of association]

1. All Germans shall have the right to form corporations and other associations.
2. Associations whose aims or activities contravene the criminal laws, or that are
directed against the constitutional order or the concept of international
understanding, shall be prohibited.
3. The right to form associations to safeguard and improve working and economic
conditions shall be guaranteed to every individual and to every occupation or
profession. Agreements that restrict or seek to impair this right shall be null and
void; measures directed to this end shall be unlawful. Measures taken pursuant to
Article 12a, to paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article 35, to paragraph (4) of Article 87a, or
to Article 91 may not be directed against industrial disputes engaged in by
associations within the meaning of the first sentence of this paragraph in order to
safeguard and improve working and economic conditions.
Article 10: [Privacy of correspondence, posts and

telecommunications]
1. The privacy of correspondence, posts and telecommunications shall be inviolable.
2. Restrictions may be ordered only pursuant to a law. If the restriction serves to
protect the free democratic basic order or the existence or security of the
Federation or of a Land, the law may provide that the person affected shall not be
informed of the restriction and that recourse to the courts shall be replaced by a
review of the case by agencies and auxiliary agencies appointed by the legislature.
Article 11: [Freedom of movement]

1. All Germans shall have the right to move freely throughout the federal territory.
2. This right may be restricted only by or pursuant to a law, and only in cases in
which the absence of adequate means of support would result in a particular burden
for the community, or in which such restriction is necessary to avert an imminent
danger to the existence or the free democratic basic order of the Federation or of a
Land, to combat the danger of an epidemic, to respond to a grave accident or natural
disaster, to protect young persons from serious neglect, or to prevent crime.
Article 12: [Occupational freedom]

1. All Germans shall have the right freely to choose their occupation or profession,
their place of work and their place of training. The practice of an occupation or
profession may be regulated by or pursuant to a law.
2. No person may be required to perform work of a particular kind except within the
framework of a traditional duty of community service that applies generally and
equally to all.

3. Forced labour may be imposed only on persons deprived of their liberty by the
judgment of a court.
Article 12a: [Compulsory military and alternative civilian

service]
1. Men who have attained the age of eighteen may be required to serve in the
Armed Forces, in the Federal Border Police, or in a civil defence organisation.
2. Any person who, on grounds of conscience, refuses to render military service
involving the use of arms may be required to perform alternative service. The
duration of alternative service shall not exceed that of military service. Details shall
be regulated by a law, which shall not interfere with the freedom to make a decision
in accordance with the dictates of conscience, and which shall also provide for the
possibility of alternative service not connected with units of the Armed Forces or of
the Federal Border Police.
3. Persons liable to compulsory military service who are not called upon to render
service pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of this Article may, when a state of defence is
in effect, be assigned by or pursuant to a law to employment involving civilian
services for defence purposes, including the protection of the civilian population;
they may be assigned to public employment only for the purpose of discharging
police functions or such other sovereign functions of public administration as can be
discharged only by persons employed in the public service. The employment
contemplated by the first sentence of this paragraph may include services within the
Armed Forces, in the provision of military supplies, or with public administrative
authorities; assignments to employment connected with supplying and servicing the
civilian population shall be permissible only to meet their basic requirements or to
guarantee their safety.
4. If, during a state of defence, the need for civilian services in the civilian health
system or in stationary military hospitals cannot be met on a voluntary basis, women
between the age of eighteen and fifty-five may be called upon to render such
services by or pursuant to a law. Under no circumstances may they be required to
render service involving the use of arms.
5. Prior to the existence of a state of defence, assignments under paragraph (3) of
this Article may be made only if the requirements of paragraph (1) of Article 80a are
met. In preparation for the provision of services under paragraph (3) of this Article
that demand special knowledge or skills, participation in training courses may be
required by or pursuant to a law. In this case the first sentence of this paragraph shall
not apply.
6. If, during a state of defence, the need for workers in the areas specified in the
second sentence of paragraph (3) of this Article cannot be met on a voluntary basis,
the right of German citizens to abandon their occupation or place of employment
may be restricted by or pursuant to a law in order to meet this need. Prior to the
existence of a state of defence, the first sentence of paragraph (5) of this Article shall
apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 13: [Inviolability of the home]

1. The home is inviolable.
2. Searches may be authorised only by a judge or, when time is of the essence, by
other authorities designated by the laws, and may be carried out only in the manner
therein prescribed.

3. If particular facts justify the suspicion that any person has committed an
especially serious crime specifically defined by a law, technical means of acoustical
surveillance of any home in which the suspect is supposedly staying may be
employed pursuant to judicial order for the purpose of prosecuting the offence,
provided that alternative methods of investigating the matter would be
disproportionately difficult or unproductive. The authorisation shall be for a limited
time. The order shall be issued by a panel composed of three judges. When time is of
the essence, it may also be issued by a single judge.
4. To avert acute dangers to public safety, especially dangers to life or to the public,
technical means of surveillance of the home may be employed only pursuant to
judicial order. When time is of the essence, such measures may also be ordered by
other authorities designated by a law; a judicial decision shall subsequently be
obtained without delay.
5. If technical means are contemplated solely for the protection of persons officially
deployed in a home, the measure may be ordered by an authority designated by a
law. The information thereby obtained may be otherwise used only for purposes of
criminal prosecution or to avert danger and only if the legality of the measure has
been previously determined by a judge; when time is of the essence, a judicial
decision shall subsequently be obtained without delay.
6. The Federal Government shall report to the Bundestag annually as to the
employment of technical means pursuant to paragraph (3) and, within the
jurisdiction of the Federation, pursuant to paragraph (4) and, insofar as judicial
approval is required, pursuant to paragraph (5) of this Article. A panel elected by the
Bundestag shall exercise parliamentary oversight on the basis of this report. A
comparable parliamentary oversight shall be afforded by the Länder.
7. Interferences and restrictions shall otherwise only be permissible to avert a
danger to the public or to the life of an individual, or, pursuant to a law, to confront
an acute danger to public safety and order, in particular to relieve a housing
shortage, to combat the danger of an epidemic, or to protect young persons at risk.
Article 14: [Property - Inheritance - Expropriation]

1. Property and the right of inheritance shall be guaranteed. Their content and
limits shall be defined by the laws.
2. Property entails obligations. Its use shall also serve the public good.
3. Expropriation shall only be permissible for the public good. It may only be
ordered by or pursuant to a law that determines the nature and extent of
compensation. Such compensation shall be determined by establishing an equitable
balance between the public interest and the interests of those affected. In case of
dispute concerning the amount of compensation, recourse may be had to the
ordinary courts.
• Ownership of natural resources Article 15: [Socialisation]

Land, natural resources and means of production may for the purpose of
socialisation be transferred to public ownership or other forms of public enterprise
by a law that determines the nature and extent of compensation. With respect to
such compensation the third and fourth sentences of paragraph (3) of Article 14 shall
apply mutatis mutandis.

Article 16: [Citizenship - Extradition]

1. No German may be deprived of his citizenship. Citizenship may be lost only
pursuant to a law, and against the will of the person affected only if he does not
become stateless as a result.
2. No German may be extradited to a foreign country. The law may provide
otherwise for extraditions to a member state of the European Union or to an
international court, provided that the rule of law is observed.
• Protection of stateless persons Article 16a: [Right of asylum]

1. Persons persecuted on political grounds shall have the right of asylum.
2. Paragraph (1) of this Article may not be invoked by a person who enters the
federal territory from a member state of the European Communities or from another
third state in which application of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
and of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms is assured. The states outside the European Communities to which the
criteria of the first sentence of this paragraph apply shall be specified by a law
requiring the consent of the Bundesrat. In the cases specified in the first sentence of
this paragraph, measures to terminate an applicant's stay may be implemented
without regard to any legal challenge that may have been instituted against them.
3. By a law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat, states may be specified in which,
on the basis of their laws, enforcement practices and general political conditions, it
can be safely concluded that neither political persecution nor inhuman or degrading
punishment or treatment exists. It shall be presumed that a foreigner from such a
state is not persecuted, unless he presents evidence justifying the conclusion that,
contrary to this presumption, he is persecuted on political grounds.
4. In the cases specified by paragraph (3) of this Article and in other cases that are
plainly unfounded or considered to be plainly unfounded, the implementation of
measures to terminate an applicant's stay may be suspended by a court only if
serious doubts exist as to their legality; the scope of review may be limited, and tardy
objections may be disregarded. Details shall be determined by a law.
5. Paragraphs (1) to (4) of this Article shall not preclude the conclusion of
international agreements of member states of the European Communities with each
other or with those third states which, with due regard for the obligations arising
from the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, whose enforcement must
be assured in the contracting states, adopt rules conferring jurisdiction to decide on
applications for asylum, including the reciprocal recognition of asylum decisions.
• Right of petition Article 17: [Right of petition]

Every person shall have the right individually or jointly with others to address
written requests or complaints to competent authorities and to the legislature.
Article 17a: [Restriction of basic rights in specific

instances]
1. Laws regarding military and alternative service may provide that the basic right
of members of the Armed Forces and of alternative service freely to express and
disseminate their opinions in speech, writing and pictures (first clause of paragraph
(1) of Article 5), the basic right of assembly (Article 8), and the right of petition
(Article 17) insofar as it permits the submission of requests or complaints jointly with

others, be restricted during their period of military or alternative service.

2. Laws regarding defence, including protection of the civilian population, may
provide for restriction of the basic rights of freedom of movement (Article 11) and
inviolability of the home (Article 13).
• Constitutional court powers

• Mention of telecommunications
Article 18: [Forfeiture of basic rights]
Whoever abuses the freedom of expression, in particular the freedom of the press
(paragraph (1) of Article 5), the freedom of teaching (paragraph (3) of Article 5), the
freedom of assembly (Article 8), the freedom of association (Article 9), the privacy of
correspondence, posts and telecommunications (Article 10), the rights of property
(Article 14), or the right of asylum (Article 16a) in order to combat the free
democratic basic order shall forfeit these basic rights. This forfeiture and its extent
shall be declared by the Federal Constitutional Court.
Article 19: [Restriction of basic rights - Legal remedies]

1. Insofar as, under this Basic Law, a basic right may be restricted by or pursuant to
a law, such law must apply generally and not merely to a single case. In addition, the
law must specify the basic right affected and the Article in which it appears.
2. In no case may the essence of a basic right be affected.
3. The basic rights shall also apply to domestic artificial persons to the extent that
the nature of such rights permits.
4. Should any person's rights be violated by public authority, he may have recourse
to the courts. If no other jurisdiction has been established, recourse shall be to the
ordinary courts. The second sentence of paragraph (2) of Article 10 shall not be
affected by this paragraph.
II. The Federation and the Länder
Article 20: [Constitutional principles - Right of resistance]

1. The Federal Republic of Germany is a democratic and social federal state.
2. All state authority is derived from the people. It shall be exercised by the people
through elections and other votes and through specific legislative, executive and
judicial bodies.
3. The legislature shall be bound by the constitutional order, the executive and the
judiciary by law and justice.
4. All Germans shall have the right to resist any person seeking to abolish this
constitutional order, if no other remedy is available.
• Protection of environment Article 20a: [Protection of the natural foundations of life

and animals]
Mindful also of its responsibility toward future generations, the state shall protect
the natural foundations of life and animals by legislation and, in accordance with law
and justice, by executive and judicial action, all within the framework of the
constitutional order.

Article 21: [Political parties]

1. Political parties shall participate in the formation of the political will of the
people. They may be freely established. Their internal organisation must conform to
democratic principles. They must publicly account for their assets and for the
sources and use of their funds.
2. Parties that, by reason of their aims or the behaviour of their adherents, seek to
undermine or abolish the free democratic basic order or to endanger the existence of
the Federal Republic of Germany shall be unconstitutional. The Federal
Constitutional Court shall rule on the question of unconstitutionality.
3. Details shall be regulated by federal laws.
Article 22: [Federal capital - Federal flag]

1. Berlin is the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Federation shall be
responsible for representing the nation as a whole in the capital. Details shall be
regulated by federal law.
2. The federal flag shall be black, red and gold.
• Mention of regional group(s) Article 23: [European Union - Protection of basic rights -
Principle of subsidiarity]
1. With a view to establishing a united Europe, the Federal Republic of Germany
shall participate in the development of the European Union that is committed to
democratic, social and federal principles, to the rule of law, and to the principle of
subsidiarity, and that guarantees a level of protection of basic rights essentially
comparable to that afforded by this Basic Law. To this end the Federation may
transfer sovereign powers by a law with the consent of the Bundesrat. The
establishment of the European Union, as well as changes in its treaty foundations
and comparable regulations that amend or supplement this Basic Law, or make such
amendments or supplements possible, shall be subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) of
Article 79.
1a. The Bundestag and the Bundesrat shall have the right to bring an action before
the Court of Justice of the European Union to challenge a legislative act of the
European Union for infringing the principle of subsidiarity. The Bundestag is obliged
to initiate such an action at the request of one fourth of its Members. By a statute
requiring the consent of the Bundesrat, exceptions from the first sentence of
paragraph (2) of Article 42, and the first sentence of paragraph (2) of Article 52, may
be authorised for the exercise of the rights granted to the Bundestag and the
Bundesrat under the contractual foundations of the European Union.
2. The Bundestag and, through the Bundesrat, the Länder shall participate in
matters concerning the European Union. The Federal Government shall keep the
Bundestag and the Bundesrat informed, comprehensively and at the earliest possible
time.
3. Before participating in legislative acts of the European Union, the Federal
Government shall provide the Bundestag with an opportunity to state its position.
The Federal Government shall take the position of the Bundestag into account
during the negotiations. Details shall be regulated by a law.
4. The Bundesrat shall participate in the decision-making process of the Federation
insofar as it would have been competent to do so in a comparable domestic matter,
or insofar as the subject falls within the domestic competence of the Länder.

5. Insofar as, in an area within the exclusive competence of the Federation, interests
of the Länder are affected, and in other matters, insofar as the Federation has
legislative power, the Federal Government shall take the position of the Bundesrat
into account. To the extent that the legislative powers of the Länder, the structure of
Land authorities, or Land administrative procedures are primarily affected, the
position of the Bundesrat shall be given the greatest possible respect in determining
the Federation's position consistent with the responsibility of the Federation for the
nation as a whole. In matters that may result in increased expenditures or reduced
revenues for the Federation, the consent of the Federal Government shall be
required.
6. When legislative powers exclusive to the Länder concerning matters of school
education, culture or broadcasting are primarily affected, the exercise of the rights
belonging to the Federal Republic of Germany as a member state of the European
Union shall be delegated by the Federation to a representative of the Länder
designated by the Bundesrat. These rights shall be exercised with the participation
of, and in coordination with, the Federal Government; their exercise shall be
consistent with the responsibility of the Federation for the nation as a whole.
7. Details regarding paragraphs (4) to (6) of this Article shall be regulated by a law
requiring the consent of the Bundesrat.
Article 24: [Transfer of sovereign powers - System of

collective security]
1. The Federation may by a law transfer sovereign powers to international
organisations.
1a. Insofar as the Länder are competent to exercise state powers and to perform
state functions, they may, with the consent of the Federal Government, transfer
sovereign powers to transfrontier institutions in neighbouring regions.
2. With a view to maintaining peace, the Federation may enter into a system of
mutual collective security; in doing so it shall consent to such limitations upon its
sovereign powers as will bring about and secure a lasting peace in Europe and among
the nations of the world.
3. For the settlement of disputes between states, the Federation shall accede to
agreements providing for general, comprehensive and compulsory international
arbitration.
• Mention of customary international law

• Mention of international law
Article 25: [Primacy of international law]
The general rules of international law shall be an integral part of federal law. They
shall take precedence over the laws and directly create rights and duties for the
inhabitants of the federal territory.
Article 26: [Securing international peace]

1. Acts tending to and undertaken with intent to disturb the peaceful relations
between nations, especially to prepare for a war of aggression, shall be
unconstitutional. They shall be made a criminal offence.
2. Weapons designed for warfare may be manufactured, transported or marketed
only with the permission of the Federal Government. Details shall be regulated by a
federal law.

Article 27: [Merchant fleet]

All German merchant vessels shall constitute a unitary merchant fleet.
Article 28: [Land constitutions - Autonomy of

municipalities]
1. The constitutional order in the Länder must conform to the principles of a
republican, democratic and social state governed by the rule of law, within the
meaning of this Basic Law. In each Land, county and municipality the people shall be
represented by a body chosen in general, direct, free, equal and secret elections. In
county and municipal elections, persons who possess citizenship in any member
state of the European Community are also eligible to vote and to be elected in accord
with European Community law. In municipalities a local assembly may take the place
of an elected body.
2. Municipalities must be guaranteed the right to regulate all local affairs on their
own responsibility, within the limits prescribed by the laws. Within the limits of their
functions designated by a law, associations of municipalities shall also have the right
of self-government according to the laws. The guarantee of self-government shall
extend to the bases of financial autonomy; these bases shall include the right of
municipalities to a source of tax revenues based upon economic ability and the right
to establish the rates at which these sources shall be taxed.
3. The Federation shall guarantee that the constitutional order of the Länder
conforms to the basic rights and to the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
Article.
Article 29: [New delimitation of the federal territory]

1. The division of the federal territory into Länder may be revised to ensure that
each Land be of a size and capacity to perform its functions effectively. Due regard
shall be given in this connection to regional, historical and cultural ties, economic
efficiency, and the requirements of local and regional planning.
2. Revisions of the existing division into Länder shall be effected by a federal law,
which must be confirmed by referendum. The affected Länder shall be afforded an
opportunity to be heard.
3. The referendum shall be held in the Länder from whose territories or parts of
territories a new Land or a Land with redefined boundaries is to be established
(affected Länder). The question to be voted on is whether the affected Länder are to
remain as they are or whether the new Land or the Land with redefined boundaries
should be established. The proposal to establish a new Land or a Land with redefined
boundaries shall take effect if the change is approved by a majority in the future
territory of such Land and by a majority in the territories or parts of territories of an
affected Land taken together whose affiliation with a Land is to be changed in the
same way. The proposal shall not take effect if within the territory of any of the
affected Länder a majority reject the change; however, such rejection shall be of no
consequence if in any part of the territory whose affiliation with the affected Land is
to be changed a two-thirds majority approves the change, unless it is rejected by a
two-thirds majority in the territory of the affected Land as a whole.
4. If in any clearly defined and contiguous residential and economic area located in
two or more Länder and having at least one million inhabitants one tenth of those
entitled to vote in Bundestag elections petition for the inclusion of that area in a
single Land, a federal law shall specify within two years whether the change shall be
made in accordance with paragraph (2) of this Article or that an advisory referendum
shall be held in the affected Länder.

5. The advisory referendum shall establish whether the changes the law proposes
meet with the voters' approval. The law may put forward not more than two distinct
proposals for consideration by the voters. If a majority approves a proposed change
of the existing division into Länder, a federal law shall specify within two years
whether the change shall be made in accordance with paragraph (2) of this Article. If
a proposal is approved in accordance with the third and fourth sentences of
paragraph (3) of this Article, a federal law providing for establishment of the
proposed Land shall be enacted within two years after the advisory ballot, and
confirmation by referendum shall no longer be required.
6. A majority in a referendum or in an advisory referendum shall consist of a
majority of the votes cast, provided that it amounts to at least one quarter of those
entitled to vote in Bundestag elections. Other details concerning referenda, petitions
and advisory referenda shall be regulated by a federal law, which may also provide
that the same petition may not be filed more than once within a period of five years.
7. Other changes concerning the territory of the Länder may be effected by
agreements between the Länder concerned or by a federal law with the consent of
the Bundesrat, if the territory that is to be the subject of the change has no more
than 50,000 inhabitants. Details shall be regulated by a federal law requiring the
consent of the Bundesrat and of a majority of the Members of the Bundestag. The
law must provide affected municipalities and counties with an opportunity to be
heard.
8. Länder may revise the division of their existing territory or parts of their territory
by agreement without regard to the provisions of paragraphs (2) to (7) of this Article.
Affected municipalities and counties shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard.
The agreement shall require confirmation by referendum in each of the Länder
concerned. If the revision affects only part of a Land's territory, the referendum may
be confined to the areas affected; the second clause of the fifth sentence shall not
apply. In a referendum under this paragraph a majority of the votes cast shall be
decisive, provided it amounts to at least one quarter of those entitled to vote in
Bundestag elections; details shall be regulated by a federal law. The agreement shall
require the consent of the Bundestag.
Article 30: [Sovereign powers of the Länder]

Except as otherwise provided or permitted by this Basic Law, the exercise of state
powers and the discharge of state functions is a matter for the Länder.
• Superiority of legislation (national vs.

subnational)
Article 31: [Supremacy of federal law]
Federal law shall take precedence over Land law.
Article 32: [Foreign relations]

1. Relations with foreign states shall be conducted by the Federation.
2. Before the conclusion of a treaty affecting the special circumstances of a Land,
that Land shall be consulted in timely fashion.
3. Insofar as the Länder have power to legislate, they may conclude treaties with
foreign states with the consent of the Federal Government.
Article 33: [Equal citizenship - Public service]

1. Every German shall have in every Land the same political rights and duties.

2. Every German shall be equally eligible for any public office according to his
aptitude, qualifications and professional achievements.
3. Neither the enjoyment of civil and political rights, nor eligibility for public office,
nor rights acquired in the public service shall be dependent upon religious affiliation.
No one may be disadvantaged by reason of adherence or non-adherence to a
particular religious denomination or philosophical creed.
4. The exercise of sovereign authority on a regular basis shall, as a rule, be entrusted
to members of the public service who stand in a relationship of service and loyalty
defined by public law.
5. The law governing the public service shall be regulated and developed with due
regard to the traditional principles of the professional civil service.
• Protection against ultra-vires

administrative actions
Article 34: [Liability for violation of official duty]
If any person, in the exercise of a public office entrusted to him, violates his official
duty to a third party, liability shall rest principally with the state or public body that
employs him. In the event of intentional wrongdoing or gross negligence, the right of
recourse against the individual officer shall be preserved. The ordinary courts shall
not be closed to claims for compensation or indemnity.
Article 35: [Legal and administrative assistance and

assistance during disasters]
1. All federal and Land authorities shall render legal and administrative assistance
to one another.
2. In order to maintain or restore public security or order, a Land in particularly
serious cases may call upon personnel and facilities of the Federal Border Police to
assist its police when without such assistance the police could not fulfil their
responsibilities, or could do so only with great difficulty. In order to respond to a
grave accident or a natural disaster, a Land may call for the assistance of police
forces of other Länder or of personnel and facilities of other administrative
authorities, of the Armed Forces, or of the Federal Border Police.
3. If the natural disaster or accident endangers the territory of more than one Land,
the Federal Government, insofar as is necessary to combat the danger, may instruct
the Land governments to place police forces at the disposal of other Länder, and may
deploy units of the Federal Border Police or the Armed Forces to support the police.
Measures taken by the Federal Government pursuant to the first sentence of this
paragraph shall be rescinded at any time at the demand of the Bundesrat, and in any
event as soon as the danger is removed.
Article 36: [Personnel of federal authorities]

1. Civil servants employed by the highest federal authorities shall be drawn from all
Länder in appropriate proportion. Persons employed by other federal authorities
shall, as a rule, be drawn from the Land in which they serve.
2. Laws regarding military service shall also take into account both the division of
the Federation into Länder and the regional loyalties of their people.
• Powers of cabinet Article 37: [Federal execution]

1. If a Land fails to comply with its obligations under this Basic Law or other federal
laws, the Federal Government, with the consent of the Bundesrat, may take the
necessary steps to compel the Land to comply with its duties.

2. For the purpose of implementing such coercive measures, the Federal

Government or its representative shall have the right to issue instructions to all
Länder and their authorities.
III. The Bundestag
• Structure of the legislative chamber(s)

• Selection procedure for first chamber
Article 38: [Elections]
1. Members of the German Bundestag shall be elected in general, direct, free, equal
and secret elections. They shall be representatives of the whole people, not bound by
orders or instructions, and responsible only to their conscience.
2. Any person who has attained the age of eighteen shall be entitled to vote; any
person who has attained the age of majority may be elected.
3. Details shall be regulated by a federal law.
Article 39: [Electoral term - Convening]

1. Save the following provisions, the Bundestag shall be elected for four years. Its
term shall end when a new Bundestag convenes. New elections shall be held no
sooner than forty-six months and no later than forty-eight months after the electoral
term begins. If the Bundestag is dissolved, new elections shall be held within sixty
days.
2. The Bundestag shall convene no later than the thirtieth day after the elections.
3. The Bundestag shall determine when its sessions shall be adjourned and
resumed. The President of the Bundestag may convene it at an earlier date. He shall
be obliged to do so if one third of the Members, the Federal President or the Federal
Chancellor so demand.
Article 40: [Presidency - Rules of procedure]

1. The Bundestag shall elect its President, Vice-Presidents and secretaries. It shall
adopt rules of procedure.
2. The President shall exercise proprietary and police powers in the Bundestag
building. No search or seizure may take place on the premises of the Bundestag
without his permission.
Article 41: [Scrutiny of elections]

1. Scrutiny of elections shall be the responsibility of the Bundestag. It shall also
decide whether a Member has lost his seat.
2. Complaints against such decisions of the Bundestag may be lodged with the
Federal Constitutional Court.
Article 42: [Public sittings - Majority decisions]

1. Sittings of the Bundestag shall be public. On the motion of one tenth of its
Members, or on the motion of the Federal Government, the public may be excluded
by a two-thirds majority. The motion shall be voted upon at a sitting not open to the

public.
2. Decisions of the Bundestag shall require a majority of the votes cast unless this
Basic Law otherwise provides. The rules of procedure may permit exceptions with
respect to elections to be conducted by the Bundestag.
3. Truthful reports of public sittings of the Bundestag and of its committees shall
not give rise to any liability.
• Legislative committees Article 43: [Right to require presence, right of access and
right to be heard]
1. The Bundestag and its committees may require the presence of any member of
the Federal Government.
2. The members of the Bundesrat and of the Federal Government as well as their
representatives may attend all sittings of the Bundestag and meetings of its
committees. They shall have the right to be heard at any time.
• Legislative committees Article 44: [Committees of inquiry]

1. The Bundestag shall have the right, and on the motion of one quarter of its
Members the duty, to establish a committee of inquiry, which shall take the requisite
evidence at public hearings. The public may be excluded.
2. The rules of criminal procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis to the taking of
evidence. The privacy of correspondence, posts and telecommunications shall not be
affected.
3. Courts and administrative authorities shall be required to provide legal and
administrative assistance.
4. The decisions of committees of inquiry shall not be subject to judicial review. The
courts shall be free to evaluate and rule upon the facts that were the subject of the
investigation.
• Legislative committees
• Mention of regional group(s)
Article 45: [Committee on the European Union]
The Bundestag shall appoint a Committee on the Affairs of the European Union. It
may authorise the committee to exercise the rights of the Bundestag under Article
23 vis-à-vis the Federal Government. It may also empower it to exercise the rights
granted to the Bundestag under the contractual foundations of the European Union.
• Legislative committees Article 45a: [Committees on Foreign Affairs and Defence]

1. The Bundestag shall appoint a Committee on Foreign Affairs and a Defence
Committee.
2. The Defence Committee shall also have the powers of a committee of inquiry. On
the motion of one quarter of its members it shall have the duty to make a specific
matter the subject of inquiry.
3. Paragraph (1) of Article 44 shall not apply to defence matters.

Article 45b: [Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed

Forces]
A Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces shall be appointed to
safeguard basic rights and to assist the Bundestag in exercising parliamentary
oversight over the Armed Forces. Details shall be regulated by a federal law.
• Legislative committees Article 45c: [Petitions Committee]

1. The Bundestag shall appoint a Petitions Committee to deal with requests and
complaints addressed to the Bundestag pursuant to Article 17.
2. The powers of the Committee to consider complaints shall be regulated by a
federal law.
Article 45d: [Parliamentary Control Panel]

1. The Bundestag shall appoint a panel to scrutinise the intelligence activities of the
Federation.
• Immunity of legislators Article 46: [Immunities of Members]

1. At no time may a Member be subjected to court proceedings or disciplinary
action or otherwise called to account outside the Bundestag for a vote cast or for any
speech or debate in the Bundestag or in any of its committees. This provision shall
not apply to defamatory insults.
2. A Member may not be called to account or arrested for a punishable offence
without permission of the Bundestag, unless he is apprehended while committing the
offence or in the course of the following day.
3. The permission of the Bundestag shall also be required for any other restriction
of a Member's freedom of the person or for the initiation of proceedings against a
Member under Article 18.
4. Any criminal proceedings or any proceedings under Article 18 against a Member
and any detention or other restriction of the freedom of his person shall be
suspended at the demand of the Bundestag.
Article 47: [Right of refusal to give evidence]

Members may refuse to give evidence concerning persons who have confided
information to them in their capacity as Members of the Bundestag, or to whom they
have confided information in this capacity, as well as evidence concerning this
information itself. To the extent that this right of refusal to give evidence applies, no
seizure of documents shall be permissible.
Article 48: [Candidature - Protection of membership -

Remuneration]
1. Every candidate for election to the Bundestag shall be entitled to the leave
necessary for his election campaign.

2. No one may be prevented from accepting or exercising the office of Member of

the Bundestag. No one may be given notice of dismissal or discharged from
employment on this ground.
3. Members shall be entitled to remuneration adequate to ensure their
independence. They shall be entitled to the free use of all publicly owned means of
transport. Details shall be regulated by a federal law.
Article 49
(repealed)
IV. The Bundesrat
• Structure of the legislative chamber(s)

Article 50: [Functions]
The Länder shall participate through the Bundesrat in the legislation and
administration of the Federation and in matters concerning the European Union.
Article 51: [Composition - Weighted voting]

1. The Bundesrat shall consist of members of the Land governments, which appoint
and recall them. Other members of those governments may serve as alternates.
2. Each Land shall have at least three votes; Länder with more than two million
inhabitants shall have four, Länder with more than six million inhabitants five, and
Länder with more than seven million inhabitants six votes.
3. Each Land may appoint as many members as it has votes. The votes of each Land
may be cast only as a unit and only by Members present or their alternates.
Article 52: [President - Decisions - Rules of procedure]

1. The Bundesrat shall elect its President for one year.
2. The President shall convene the Bundesrat. He shall be obliged to do so if the
delegates of at least two Länder or the Federal Government so demand.
3. Decisions of the Bundesrat shall require at least a majority of its votes. It shall
adopt rules of procedure. Its meetings shall be open to the public. The public may be
excluded.
3a. For matters concerning the European Union the Bundesrat may establish a
Chamber for European Affairs, whose decisions shall be considered decisions of the
Bundesrat; the number of votes to be uniformly cast by the Länder shall be
determined by paragraph (2) of Article 51.
4. Other members or representatives of Land governments may serve on
committees of the Bundesrat.

• Legislative committees Article 53: [Attendance of members of the Federal

Government]
The members of the Federal Government shall have the right, and on demand the
duty, to participate in meetings of the Bundesrat and of its committees. They shall
have the right to be heard at any time. The Bundesrat shall be kept informed by the
Federal Government with regard to the conduct of its affairs.
IVa
The Joint Committee
• Legislative committees
• Joint meetings of the legislative chambers
Article 53a: [Composition - Rules of procedure]
1. The Joint Committee shall consist of Members of the Bundestag and members of
the Bundesrat; the Bundestag shall provide two thirds and the Bundesrat one third
of the committee members. The Bundestag shall designate Members in proportion
to the relative strength of the various parliamentary groups; they may not be
members of the Federal Government. Each Land shall be represented by a Bundesrat
member of its choice; these members shall not be bound by instructions. The
establishment of the Joint Committee and its proceedings shall be regulated by rules
of procedure to be adopted by the Bundestag and requiring the consent of the
Bundesrat.
2. The Federal Government shall inform the Joint Committee about its plans for a
state of defence. The rights of the Bundestag and its committees under paragraph (1)
of Article 43 shall not be affected by the provisions of this paragraph.
V. The Federal President
• Name/structure of executive(s) Article 54: [Election - Term of office]

1. The Federal President shall be elected by the Federal Convention without
debate. Any German who is entitled to vote in Bundestag elections and has attained
the age of forty may be elected.
2. The term of office of the Federal President shall be five years. Re-election for a
consecutive term shall be permitted only once.
3. The Federal Convention shall consist of the Members of the Bundestag and an
equal number of members elected by the parliaments of the Länder on the basis of
proportional representation.
4. The Federal Convention shall meet not later than thirty days before the term of
office of the Federal President expires or, in the case of premature termination, not
later than thirty days after that date. It shall be convened by the President of the
Bundestag.
5. After the expiration of an electoral term, the period specified in the first sentence
of paragraph (4) of this Article shall begin when the Bundestag first convenes.

6. The person receiving the votes of a majority of the members of the Federal
Convention shall be elected. If after two ballots no candidate has obtained such a
majority, the person who receives the largest number of votes on the next ballot
shall be elected.
• Restrictions on eligibility for head of state Article 55: [Incompatibilities]

1. The Federal President may not be a member of the government or of a legislative
body of the Federation or of a Land.
2. The Federal President may not hold any other salaried office, or engage in any
trade or profession, or belong to the management or supervisory board of any
enterprise conducted for profit.
• Mention of God or other deities

• Oaths to abide by constitution
Article 56: [Oath of office]
• General guarantee of social security
On assuming his office, the Federal President shall take the following oath before the
assembled Members of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat: "I swear that I will
dedicate my efforts to the well-being of the German people, promote their welfare,
protect them from harm, uphold and defend the Basic Law and the laws of the
Federation, perform my duties conscientiously, and do justice to all. So help me God."
The oath may also be taken without religious affirmation.
• Head of state replacement procedure Article 57: [Substitution]

If the Federal President is unable to perform his duties, or if his office falls
prematurely vacant, the President of the Bundesrat shall exercise his powers.
• Powers of cabinet
• Head of government powers
Article 58: [Countersignature]
Orders and directions of the Federal President shall require for their validity the
countersignature of the Federal Chancellor or of the competent Federal Minister.
This provision shall not apply to the appointment or dismissal of the Federal
Chancellor, the dissolution of the Bundestag under Article 63, or a request made
under paragraph (3) of Article 69.

• Treaty ratification process
Article 59: [Representation of the Federation for the
purposes of international law]
1. The Federal President shall represent the Federation for the purposes of
international law. He shall conclude treaties with foreign states on behalf of the
Federation. He shall accredit and receive envoys.
2. Treaties that regulate the political relations of the Federation or relate to
subjects of federal legislation shall require the consent or participation, in the form
of a federal law, of the bodies responsible in such a case for the enactment of federal
law. In the case of executive agreements the provisions concerning the federal
administration shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 59a
(repealed)

Article 60: [Appointment of civil servants - Pardon -

Immunity]
1. The Federal President shall appoint and dismiss federal judges, federal civil
servants, and commissioned and noncommissioned officers of the Armed Forces,
except as may otherwise be provided by a law.
2. He shall exercise the power to pardon individual offenders on behalf of the
Federation.
3. He may delegate these powers to other authorities.
4. Paragraphs (2) to (4) of Article 46 shall apply to the Federal President mutatis
mutandis.

• Head of state removal procedure
Article 61: [Impeachment before the Federal
Constitutional Court]
1. The Bundestag or the Bundesrat may impeach the Federal President before the
Federal Constitutional Court for wilful violation of this Basic Law or of any other
federal law. The motion of impeachment must be supported by at least one quarter
of the Members of the Bundestag or one quarter of the votes of the Bundesrat. The
decision to impeach shall require a majority of two thirds of the Members of the
Bundestag or of two thirds of the votes of the Bundesrat. The case for impeachment
shall be presented before the Federal Constitutional Court by a person
commissioned by the impeaching body.
2. If the Federal Constitutional Court finds the Federal President guilty of a wilful
violation of this Basic Law or of any other federal law, it may declare that he has
forfeited his office. After the Federal President has been impeached, the Court may
issue an interim order preventing him from exercising his functions.
VI. The Federal Government
• Mention of cabinet/ministers
• Name/structure of executive(s)
Article 62: [Composition]
The Federal Government shall consist of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal
Ministers.
• Head of government selection procedure Article 63: [Election of the Federal Chancellor]
1. The Federal Chancellor shall be elected by the Bundestag without debate on the
proposal of the Federal President.
2. The person who receives the votes of a majority of the Members of the
Bundestag shall be elected. The person elected shall be appointed by the Federal
President.
3. If the person proposed by the Federal President is not elected, the Bundestag
may elect a Federal Chancellor within fourteen days after the ballot by the votes of
more than one half of its Members.

4. If no Federal Chancellor is elected within this period, a new election shall take
place without delay, in which the person who receives the largest number of votes
shall be elected. If the person elected receives the votes of a majority of the
Members of the Bundestag, the Federal President must appoint him within seven
days after the election. If the person elected does not receive such a majority, then
within seven days the Federal President shall either appoint him or dissolve the
Bundestag.
• Mention of cabinet/ministers Article 64: [Appointment and dismissal of Federal

Ministers - Oath of office]
1. Federal Ministers shall be appointed and dismissed by the Federal President
upon the proposal of the Federal Chancellor.
2. On taking office the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers shall take the
oath provided for in Article 56 before the Bundestag.
• Powers of cabinet
• Head of government powers
Article 65: [Power to determine policy guidelines -
• Head of state powers
Department and collegiate responsibility]
The Federal Chancellor shall determine and be responsible for the general guidelines
of policy. Within these limits each Federal Minister shall conduct the affairs of his
department independently and on his own responsibility. The Federal Government
shall resolve differences of opinion between Federal Ministers. The Federal
Chancellor shall conduct the proceedings of the Federal Government in accordance
with rules of procedure adopted by the Government and approved by the Federal
President.
• Designation of commander in chief Article 65a: [Command of the Armed Forces]

1. Command of the Armed Forces shall be vested in the Federal Minister of
Defence.
2. (repealed)
• Restrictions on eligibility for cabinet Article 66: [Incompatibilities]

Neither the Federal Chancellor nor a Federal Minister may hold any other salaried
office, or engage in any trade or profession, or belong to the management or, without
the consent of the Bundestag, to the supervisory board of an enterprise conducted
for profit.
• Removal procedure for cabinet

• Head of government removal procedure
Article 67: [Vote of no confidence]
• Head of government replacement
procedure
1. The Bundestag may express its lack of confidence in the Federal Chancellor only
by electing a successor by the vote of a majority of its Members and requesting the
Federal President to dismiss the Federal Chancellor. The Federal President must
comply with the request and appoint the person elected.
2. Forty-eight hours shall elapse between the motion and the election.


Article 68: [Vote of confidence]
• Head of government replacement
procedure
1. If a motion of the Federal Chancellor for a vote of confidence is not supported by
the majority of the Members of the Bundestag, the Federal President, upon the
proposal of the Federal Chancellor, may dissolve the Bundestag within twenty-one
days. The right of dissolution shall lapse as soon as the Bundestag elects another
Federal Chancellor by the vote of a majority of its Members.
2. Forty-eight hours shall elapse between the motion and the vote.

Article 69: [Deputy Federal Chancellor - Term of office]
1. The Federal Chancellor shall appoint a Federal Minister as his deputy.
2. The tenure of office of the Federal Chancellor or of a Federal Minister shall end in
any event when a new Bundestag convenes; the tenure of office of a Federal
Minister shall also end on any other occasion on which the Federal Chancellor ceases
to hold office.
3. At the request of the Federal President the Federal Chancellor, or at the request
of the Federal Chancellor or of the Federal President a Federal Minister, shall be
obliged to continue to manage the affairs of his office until a successor is appointed.
VII. Federal Legislation and Legislative

Procedures
Article 70: [Division of powers between the Federation and

the Länder]
1. The Länder shall have the right to legislate insofar as this Basic Law does not
confer legislative power on the Federation.
2. The division of authority between the Federation and the Länder shall be
governed by the provisions of this Basic Law concerning exclusive and concurrent
legislative powers.
Article 71: [Exclusive legislative power of the Federation]

On matters within the exclusive legislative power of the Federation, the Länder shall
have power to legislate only when and to the extent that they are expressly
authorised to do so by a federal law.
Article 72: [Concurrent legislative powers]

1. On matters within the concurrent legislative power, the Länder shall have power
to legislate so long as and to the extent that the Federation has not exercised its
legislative power by enacting a law.
2. The Federation shall have the right to legislate on matters falling within clauses 4,
7, 11, 13, 15, 19a, 20, 22, 25 and 26 of paragraph (1) of Article 74, if and to the extent
that the establishment of equivalent living conditions throughout the federal
territory or the maintenance of legal or economic unity renders federal regulation
necessary in the national interest.

3. If the Federation has made use of its power to legislate, the Länder may enact
laws at variance with this legislation with respect to:
1. hunting (except for the law on hunting licenses);
2. protection of nature and landscape management (except for the general
principles governing the protection of nature, the law on protection of plant and
animal species or the law on protection of marine life);
3. land distribution;
4. regional planning;
5. management of water resources (except for regulations related to materials or
facilities);
6. admission to institutions of higher education and requirements for graduation in
such institutions.
Federal laws on these matters shall enter into force no earlier than six months
following their promulgation unless otherwise provided with the consent of the
Bundesrat. As for the relationship between federal law and law of the Länder, the
latest law enacted shall take precedence with respect to matters within the scope of
the first sentence.
4. A federal law may provide that federal legislation that is no longer necessary
within the meaning of paragraph (2) of this Article may be superseded by Land law.
Article 73: [Matters under exclusive legislative power of

the Federation]
1. The Federation shall have exclusive legislative power with respect to:
1. foreign affairs and defence, including protection of the civilian population;
2. citizenship in the Federation;
3. freedom of movement, passports, residency registration and identity cards,
immigration, emigration and extradition;
4. currency, money and coinage, weights and measures, and the determination of
standards of time;
5. the unity of the customs and trading area, treaties regarding commerce and
navigation, the free movement of goods, and the exchange of goods and
payments with foreign countries, including customs and border protection;
5a. safeguarding German cultural assets against removal from the country;
6. air transport;
6a. the operation of railways wholly or predominantly owned by the Federation
(federal railways), the construction, maintenance and operation of railroad lines
belonging to federal railways, and the levying of charges for the use of these
lines;
7. postal and telecommunications services;
8. the legal relations of persons employed by the Federation and by federal
corporations under public law;
9. industrial property rights, copyrights and publishing;
9a. protection by the Federal Criminal Police Office against the dangers of
international terrorism when a threat transcends the boundary of one Land,
when the jurisdiction of a Land's police authorities cannot be perceived, or when
the highest authority of an individual Land requests the assumption of federal
responsibility;
10. cooperation between the Federation and the Länder concerning
a. criminal police work,

b. protection of the free democratic basic order, existence and security of the
Federation or of a Land (protection of the constitution), and
c. protection against activities within the federal territory which, by the use of
force or preparations for the use of force, endanger the external interests of the
Federal Republic of Germany,
as well as the establishment of a Federal Criminal Police Office and international
action to combat crime;
11. statistics for federal purposes;
12. the law on weapons and explosives;
13. benefits for persons disabled by war and for dependents of deceased war
victims as well as assistance to former prisoners of war;
14. the production and utilisation of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, the
construction and operation of facilities serving such purposes, protection
against hazards arising from the release of nuclear energy or from ionising
radiation, and the disposal of radioactive substances.
2. Laws enacted pursuant to clause 9a of paragraph (1) require the consent of the
Bundesrat.
Article 74: [Matters under concurrent legislative powers]

1. Concurrent legislative power shall extend to the following matters:
1. civil law, criminal law, court organisation and procedure (except for the
correctional law of pre-trial detention), the legal profession, notaries, and the
provision of legal advice;
2. registration of births, deaths and marriages;
3. the law of association;
4. the law relating to residence and establishment of foreign nationals;
4a. (repealed)
5. (repealed)
6. matters concerning refugees and expellees;
7. public welfare (except for the law on social care homes);
8. (repealed)
9. war damage and reparations;
10. war graves and graves of other victims of war or despotism;
11. the law relating to economic matters (mining, industry, energy, crafts, trades,
commerce, banking, stock exchanges and private insurance), except for the law
on shop closing hours, restaurants, game halls, display of individual persons,
trade fairs, exhibitions and markets;
11a. (repealed)
12. labour law, including the organisation of enterprises, occupational health and
safety, and employment agencies, as well as social security, including
unemployment insurance;
13. the regulation of educational and training grants and the promotion of
research;
14. the law regarding expropriation, to the extent relevant to matters enumerated
in Articles 73 and 74;
15. the transfer of land, natural resources, and means of production to public
ownership or other forms of public enterprise;
16. prevention of the abuse of economic power;

17. the promotion of agricultural production and forestry (except for the law on
land consolidation), ensuring the adequacy of food supply, the importation and
exportation of agricultural and forestry products, deep-sea and coastal fishing,
and preservation of the coasts;
18. urban real estate transactions, land law (except for laws regarding
development fees), and the law on rental subsidies, subsidies for old debts, home
building loan premiums, miners' homebuilding and homesteading;
19. measures to combat human and animal diseases which pose a danger to the
public or are communicable, admission to the medical profession and to ancillary
professions or occupations, as well as the law on pharmacies, medicines, medical
products, drugs, narcotics and poisons;
19a. the economic viability of hospitals and the regulation of hospital charges;
20. the law on food products including animals used in their production, the law on
alcohol and tobacco, essential commodities and feedstuffs as well as protective
measures in connection with the marketing of agricultural and forest seeds and
seedlings, the protection of plants against diseases and pests, as well as the
protection of animals;
21. maritime and coastal shipping, as well as navigational aids, inland navigation,
meteorological services, sea routes, and inland waterways used for general
traffic;
22. road traffic, motor transport, construction and maintenance of long-distance
highways, as well as the collection of tolls for the use of public highways by
vehicles and the allocation of the revenue;
23. non-federal railways, except mountain railways;
24. waste disposal, air pollution control, and noise abatement (except for the
protection from noise associated with human activity);
25. state liability;
26. medically assisted generation of human life, analysis and modification of
genetic information as well as the regulation of organ, tissue and cell
transplantation;
27. the statutory rights and duties of civil servants of the Länder, the municipalities
and other corporations of public law as well as of the judges in the Länder,
except for their career regulations, remuneration and pensions;
28. hunting;
29. protection of nature and landscape management;
30. land distribution;
31. regional planning;
32. management of water resources;
33. admission to institutions of higher education and requirements for graduation
in such institutions.
2. Laws enacted pursuant to clauses 25 and 27 of paragraph (1) shall require the
consent of the Bundesrat.
Article 74a
(repealed)
Article 75
(repealed)

• Division of labor between chambers Article 76: [Bills]

1. Bills may be introduced in the Bundestag by the Federal Government, by the
Bundesrat, or from the floor of the Bundestag.
2. Federal Government bills shall first be submitted to the Bundesrat. The
Bundesrat shall be entitled to comment on such bills within six weeks. If for
important reasons, especially with respect to the scope of the bill, the Bundesrat
demands an extension, the period shall be increased to nine weeks. If in exceptional
circumstances the Federal Government on submitting a bill to the Bundesrat
declares it to be particularly urgent, it may submit the bill to the Bundestag after
three weeks or, if the Bundesrat has demanded an extension pursuant to the third
sentence of this paragraph, after six weeks, even if it has not yet received the
Bundesrat's comments; upon receiving such comments, it shall transmit them to the
Bundestag without delay. In the case of bills to amend this Basic Law or to transfer
sovereign powers pursuant to Article 23 or 24 the comment period shall be nine
weeks; the fourth sentence of this paragraph shall not apply.
3. Bundesrat bills shall be submitted to the Bundestag by the Federal Government
within six weeks. In submitting them the Federal Government shall state its own
views. If for important reasons, especially with respect to the scope of the bill, the
Federal Government demands an extension, the period shall be increased to nine
weeks. If in exceptional circumstances the Bundesrat declares a bill to be particularly
urgent, the period shall be three weeks or, if the Federal Government has demanded
an extension pursuant to the third sentence of this paragraph, six weeks. In the case
of bills to amend this Basic Law or to transfer sovereign powers pursuant to Article
23 or 24 the comment period shall be nine weeks; the fourth sentence of this
paragraph shall not apply. The Bundestag shall consider and vote on bills within a
reasonable time.
• Division of labor between chambers Article 77: [Legislative procedure - Mediation Committee]
1. Federal laws shall be adopted by the Bundestag. After their adoption the
President of the Bundestag shall submit them to the Bundesrat without delay.
2. Within three weeks after receiving an adopted bill, the Bundesrat may demand
that a committee for joint consideration of bills, composed of Members of the
Bundestag and of the Bundesrat, be convened. The composition and proceedings of
this committee shall be regulated by rules of procedure adopted by the Bundestag
and requiring the consent of the Bundesrat. The members of the Bundesrat on this
committee shall not be bound by instructions. When the consent of the Bundesrat is
required for a bill to become law, the Bundestag and the Federal Government may
likewise demand that such a committee be convened. Should the committee propose
any amendment to the adopted bill, the Bundestag shall vote on it a second time.
2a. Insofar as its consent is required for a bill to become law, the Bundesrat, if no
request has been made pursuant to the first sentence of paragraph (2) of this Article
or if the mediation proceeding has been completed without a proposal to amend the
bill, shall vote on the bill within a reasonable time.
3. Insofar as its consent is not required for a bill to become law, the Bundesrat, once
proceedings under paragraph (2) of this Article are completed, may within two
weeks object to a bill adopted by the Bundestag. The time for objection shall begin, in
the case described in the last sentence of paragraph (2) of this Article, upon receipt
of the bill as readopted by the Bundestag, and in all other cases upon receipt of a
communication from the chairman of the committee provided for in paragraph (2) of
this Article to the effect that the committee's proceedings have been concluded.

4. If the objection is adopted by the majority of the votes of the Bundesrat, it may be
rejected by a decision of the majority of the Members of the Bundestag. If the
Bundesrat adopted the objection by a majority of at least two thirds of its votes, its
rejection by the Bundestag shall require a two-thirds majority, including at least a
majority of the Members of the Bundestag.
• Division of labor between chambers Article 78: [Passage of federal laws]

A bill adopted by the Bundestag shall become law if the Bundesrat consents to it, or
fails to make a demand pursuant to paragraph (2) of Article 77, or fails to enter an
objection within the period stipulated in paragraph (3) of Article 77, or withdraws
such an objection, or if the objection is overridden by the Bundestag.
• Constitution amendment procedure Article 79: [Amendment of the Basic Law]

1. This Basic Law may be amended only by a law expressly amending or
supplementing its text. In the case of an international treaty regarding a peace
settlement, the preparation of a peace settlement, or the phasing out of an
occupation regime, or designed to promote the defence of the Federal Republic, it
shall be sufficient, for the purpose of making clear that the provisions of this Basic
Law do not preclude the conclusion and entry into force of the treaty, to add
language to the Basic Law that merely makes this clarification.
2. Any such law shall be carried by two thirds of the Members of the Bundestag and
two thirds of the votes of the Bundesrat.
3. Amendments to this Basic Law affecting the division of the Federation into
Länder, their participation on principle in the legislative process, or the principles
laid down in Articles 1 and 20 shall be inadmissible.
Article 80: [Issuance of statutory instruments]

1. The Federal Government, a Federal Minister or the Land governments may be
authorised by a law to issue statutory instruments. The content, purpose and scope
of the authority conferred shall be specified in the law. Each statutory instrument
shall contain a statement of its legal basis. If the law provides that such authority
may be further delegated, such subdelegation shall be effected by statutory
instrument.
2. Unless a federal law otherwise provides, the consent of the Bundesrat shall be
required for statutory instruments issued by the Federal Government or a Federal
Minister regarding fees or basic principles for the use of postal and
telecommunication facilities, basic principles for levying of charges for the use of
facilities of federal railways, or the construction and operation of railways, as well as
for statutory instruments issued pursuant to federal laws that require the consent of
the Bundesrat or that are executed by the Länder on federal commission or in their
own right.
3. The Bundesrat may submit to the Federal Government drafts of statutory
instruments that require its consent.
4. Insofar as Land governments are authorised by or pursuant to federal laws to
issue statutory instruments, the Länder shall also be entitled to regulate the matter
by a law.

Article 80a: [State of tension]

1. If this Basic Law or a federal law regarding defence, including protection of the
civilian population, provides that legal provisions may be applied only in accordance
with this Article, their application, except when a state of defence has been declared,
shall be permissible only after the Bundestag has determined that a state of tension
exists or has specifically approved such application. The determination of a state of
tension and specific approval in the cases mentioned in the first sentence of
paragraph (5) and the second sentence of paragraph (6) of Article 12a shall require a
two thirds majority of the votes cast.
2. Any measures taken pursuant to legal provisions by virtue of paragraph (1) of this
Article shall be rescinded whenever the Bundestag so demands.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this Article, the application of such legal
provisions shall also be permissible on the basis of and in accordance with a decision
made by an international body within the framework of a treaty of alliance with the
approval of the Federal Government. Any measures taken pursuant to this
paragraph shall be rescinded whenever the Bundestag, by the vote of a majority of
its Members, so demands.
Article 81: [Legislative emergency]

1. If, in the circumstances described in Article 68, the Bundestag is not dissolved,
the Federal President, at the request of the Federal Government and with the
consent of the Bundesrat, may declare a state of legislative emergency with respect
to a bill, if the Bundestag rejects the bill although the Federal Government has
declared it to be urgent. The same shall apply if a bill has been rejected although the
Federal Chancellor had combined it with a motion under Article 68.
2. If, after a state of legislative emergency has been declared, the Bundestag again
rejects the bill or adopts it in a version the Federal Government declares
unacceptable, the bill shall be deemed to have become law to the extent that it
receives the consent of the Bundesrat. The same shall apply if the Bundestag does
not pass the bill within four weeks after it is reintroduced.
3. During the term of office of a Federal Chancellor, any other bill rejected by the
Bundestag may become law in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article
within a period of six months after the first declaration of a state of legislative
emergency. After the expiration of this period, no further declaration of a state of
legislative emergency may be made during the term of office of the same Federal
Chancellor.
4. This Basic Law may neither be amended nor abrogated nor suspended in whole or
in part by a law enacted pursuant to paragraph (2) of this Article.
Article 82: [Certification - Promulgation - Entry into force]

1. Laws enacted in accordance with the provisions of this Basic Law shall, after
countersignature, be certified by the Federal President and promulgated in the
Federal Law Gazette. Statutory instruments shall be certified by the agency that
issues them and, unless a law otherwise provides, shall be promulgated in the
Federal Law Gazette.
2. Every law or statutory instrument shall specify the date on which it shall take
effect. In the absence of such a provision, it shall take effect on the fourteenth day
after the day on which the Federal Law Gazette containing it was published.

VIII. The Execution of Federal Laws and the

Federal Administration
• Subsidiary unit government Article 83: [Execution by the Länder]

The Länder shall execute federal laws in their own right insofar as this Basic Law
does not otherwise provide or permit.
Article 84: [Länder administration - Federal oversight]

1. Where the Länder execute federal laws in their own right, they shall provide for
the establishment of the requisite authorities and regulate their administrative
procedures. If federal laws provide otherwise, the Länder may enact deviating
regulations. If a Land has enacted a law pursuant to the second sentence, subsequent
federal laws regulating the organisation of authorities and their administrative
procedure shall not be enacted until at least six months after their promulgation,
provided that no other determination has been made with the consent of the
Bundesrat. The third sentence of paragraph (2) of Article 72 shall apply accordingly.
In exceptional cases, owing to a special need for uniform federal legislation, the
Federation may regulate the administrative procedure with no possibility of
separate Land legislation. Such laws shall require the consent of the Bundesrat.
Federal laws may not entrust municipalities and associations of municipalities with
any tasks.
2. The Federal Government, with the consent of the Bundesrat, may issue general
administrative rules.
3. The Federal Government shall exercise oversight to ensure that the Länder
execute federal laws in accordance with the law. For this purpose the Federal
Government may send commissioners to the highest Land authorities and, with their
consent or, where such consent is refused, with the consent of the Bundesrat, also to
subordinate authorities.
4. Should any deficiencies that the Federal Government has identified in the
execution of federal laws in the Länder not be corrected, the Bundesrat, on
application of the Federal Government or of the Land concerned, shall decide
whether that Land has violated the law. The decision of the Bundesrat may be
challenged in the Federal Constitutional Court.
5. With a view to the execution of federal laws, the Federal Government may be
authorised by a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat to issue
instructions in particular cases. They shall be addressed to the highest Land
authorities unless the Federal Government considers the matter urgent.
Article 85: [Execution by the Länder on federal

commission]
1. Where the Länder execute federal laws on federal commission, establishment of
the authorities shall remain the concern of the Länder, except insofar as federal laws
enacted with the consent of the Bundesrat otherwise provide. Federal laws may not
entrust municipalities and associations of municipalities with any tasks.

2. The Federal Government, with the consent of the Bundesrat, may issue general
administrative rules. It may provide for the uniform training of civil servants and
other salaried public employees. The heads of intermediate authorities shall be
appointed with its approval.
3. The Land authorities shall be subject to instructions from the competent highest
federal authorities. Such instructions shall be addressed to the highest Land
authorities unless the Federal Government considers the matter urgent.
Implementation of the instructions shall be ensured by the highest Land authorities.
4. Federal oversight shall extend to the legality and appropriateness of execution.
For this purpose the Federal Government may require the submission of reports and
documents and send commissioners to all authorities.
• Powers of cabinet Article 86: [Federal administration]

Where the Federation executes laws through its own administrative authorities or
through federal corporations or institutions established under public law, the
Federal Government shall, insofar as the law in question contains no special
provision, issue general administrative rules. The Federal Government shall provide
for the establishment of the authorities insofar as the law in question does not
otherwise provide.
Article 87: [Matters]

1. The foreign service, the federal financial administration, and, in accordance with
the provisions of Article 89, the administration of federal waterways and shipping
shall be conducted by federal administrative authorities with their own
administrative substructures. A federal law may establish Federal Border Police
authorities and central offices for police information and communications, for the
criminal police, and for the compilation of data for purposes of protection of the
constitution and of protection against activities within the federal territory which,
through the use of force or acts preparatory to the use of force, endanger the
external interests of the Federal Republic of Germany.
2. Social insurance institutions whose jurisdiction extends beyond the territory of a
single Land shall be administered as federal corporations under public law. Social
insurance institutions whose jurisdiction extends beyond the territory of a single
Land but not beyond that of three Länder shall, notwithstanding the first sentence of
this paragraph, be administered as Land corporations under public law, if the Länder
concerned have specified which Land shall exercise supervisory authority.
3. In addition, autonomous federal higher authorities as well as new federal
corporations and institutions under public law may be established by a federal law
for matters on which the Federation has legislative power. When the Federation is
confronted with new responsibilities with respect to matters on which it has
legislative power, federal authorities at intermediate and lower levels may be
established, with the consent of the Bundesrat and of a majority of the Members of
the Bundestag, in cases of urgent need.
Article 87a: [Armed Forces]

1. The Federation shall establish Armed Forces for purposes of defence. Their
numerical strength and general organisational structure must be shown in the
budget.
2. Apart from defence, the Armed Forces may be employed only to the extent
expressly permitted by this Basic Law.

3. During a state of defence or a state of tension the Armed Forces shall have the
power to protect civilian property and to perform traffic control functions to the
extent necessary to accomplish their defence mission. Moreover, during a state of
defence or a state of tension, the Armed Forces may also be authorised to support
police measures for the protection of civilian property; in this event the Armed
Forces shall cooperate with the competent authorities.
4. In order to avert an imminent danger to the existence or free democratic basic
order of the Federation or of a Land, the Federal Government, if the conditions
referred to in paragraph (2) of Article 91 obtain and the police forces and the Federal
Border Police prove inadequate, may employ the Armed Forces to support the police
and the Federal Border Police in protecting civilian property and in combating
organised armed insurgents. Any such employment of the Armed Forces shall be
discontinued if the Bundestag or the Bundesrat so demands.
Article 87b: [Federal Defence Administration]

1. The Federal Defence Administration shall be conducted as a federal
administrative authority with its own administrative substructure. It shall have
jurisdiction for personnel matters and direct responsibility for satisfaction of the
procurement needs of the Armed Forces. Responsibilities connected with pensions
for injured persons or with construction work may be assigned to the Federal
Defence Administration only by a federal law requiring the consent of the
Bundesrat. Such consent shall also be required for any laws to the extent that they
empower the Federal Defence Administration to interfere with rights of third
parties; this requirement, however, shall not apply in the case of laws regarding
personnel matters.
2. In addition, federal laws concerning defence, including recruitment for military
service and protection of the civilian population, may, with the consent of the
Bundesrat, provide that they shall be executed, wholly or in part, either by federal
administrative authorities with their own administrative substructures or by the
Länder on federal commission. If such laws are executed by the Länder on federal
commission, they may, with the consent of the Bundesrat, provide that the powers
vested in the Federal Government or in the competent highest federal authorities
pursuant to Article 85 be transferred wholly or in part to federal higher authorities;
in this event the law may provide that such authorities shall not require the consent
of the Bundesrat in issuing general administrative rules pursuant to the first
sentence of paragraph (2) of Article 85.
Article 87c: [Production and utilisation of nuclear energy]

Laws enacted under clause 14 of paragraph (1) of Article 73 may, with the consent of
the Bundesrat, provide that they shall be executed by the Länder on federal
commission.
• Mention of regional group(s) Article 87d: [Air transport administration]

1. Air transport administration shall be conducted under federal administration. Air
navigation services may also be provided by foreign air navigation service providers
which are authorised in accordance with European Community law.
2. By a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat, responsibilities for air
transport administration may be delegated to the Länder acting on federal
commission.

Article 87e: [Rail transport administration]

1. Rail transport with respect to federal railways shall be administered by federal
authorities. Responsibilities for rail transport administration may be delegated by a
federal law to the Länder acting in their own right.
2. The Federation shall discharge rail transport administration responsibilities
assigned to it by a federal law, above and beyond those regarding federal railways.
3. Federal railways shall be operated as enterprises under private law. They shall
remain the property of the Federation to the extent that their activities embrace the
construction, maintenance and operation of the tracks. The transfer of federal
shares in these enterprises under the second sentence of this paragraph shall be
effected pursuant to a law; the Federation shall retain a majority of the shares.
Details shall be regulated by a federal law.
4. The Federation shall ensure that in developing and maintaining the federal
railway system as well as in offering services over this system, other than local
passenger services, due account is taken of the interests and especially the
transportation needs of the public. Details shall be regulated by a federal law.
5. Laws enacted pursuant to paragraphs (1) to (4) of this Article shall require the
consent of the Bundesrat. The consent of the Bundesrat shall also be required for
laws regarding the dissolution, merger or division of federal railway enterprises, the
transfer of tracks of federal railways to third parties, or the abandonment of such
tracks, or affecting local passenger services.
• Mention of telecommunications Article 87f: [Posts and telecommunications]

1. In accordance with a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat, the
Federation shall ensure the availability of adequate and appropriate postal and
telecommunications services throughout the federal territory.
2. Services within the meaning of paragraph (1) of this Article shall be provided as a
matter of private enterprise by the firms succeeding to the special trust Deutsche
Bundespost and by other private providers. Sovereign functions in the area of posts
and telecommunications shall be discharged by federal administrative authorities.
3. Notwithstanding the second sentence of paragraph (2) of this Article, the
Federation, by means of a federal institution under public law, shall discharge
particular responsibilities relating to the firms succeeding to the special trust
Deutsche Bundespost as prescribed by a federal law.
• Central bank
Article 88: [The Federal Bank - The European Central
Bank]
The Federation shall establish a note-issuing and currency bank as the Federal Bank.
Within the framework of the European Union, its responsibilities and powers may be
transferred to the European Central Bank, which is independent and committed to
the overriding goal of assuring price stability.
Article 89: [Federal waterways - Administration of

waterways]
1. The Federation shall be the owner of the former Reich waterways.

2. The Federation shall administer the federal waterways through its own
authorities. It shall exercise those state functions relating to inland shipping which
extend beyond the territory of a single Land, and those functions relating to
maritime shipping, which are conferred on it by a law. Insofar as federal waterways
lie within the territory of a single Land, the Federation on its application may
delegate their administration to that Land on federal commission. If a waterway
touches the territory of several Länder, the Federation may commission that Land
which is designated by the affected Länder.
3. In the administration, development and new construction of waterways, the
requirements of land improvement and of water management shall be assured in
agreement with the Länder.
Article 90: [Federal highways]

1. The Federation shall be the owner of the former Reich motorways and highways.
2. The Länder, or such self-governing corporate bodies as are competent under
Land law, shall administer the federal motorways and other federal highways used
by long-distance traffic on federal commission.
3. On application of a Land, the Federation may assume the administration of
federal motorways and other federal highways used by long-distance traffic insofar
as they lie within the territory of that Land.
• Emergency provisions Article 91: [Internal emergency]

1. In order to avert an imminent danger to the existence or free democratic basic
order of the Federation or of a Land, a Land may call upon police forces of other
Länder, or upon personnel and facilities of other administrative authorities and of
the Federal Border Police.
2. If the Land where such danger is imminent is not itself willing or able to combat
the danger, the Federal Government may place the police in that Land and the police
forces of other Länder under its own orders and deploy units of the Federal Border
Police. Any such order shall be rescinded once the danger is removed, or at any time
on the demand of the Bundesrat. If the danger extends beyond the territory of a
single Land, the Federal Government, insofar as is necessary to combat such danger,
may issue instructions to the Land governments; the first and second sentences of
this paragraph shall not be affected by this provision.
VIIIa
Joint Tasks
Article 91a: [Joint tasks - Responsibility for expenditure]

1. In the following areas the Federation shall participate in the discharge of
responsibilities of the Länder, provided that such responsibilities are important to
society as a whole and that federal participation is necessary for the improvement of
living conditions (joint tasks):
1. improvement of regional economic structures;
2. improvement of the agrarian structure and of coastal preservation.

2. Federal laws enacted with the consent of the Bundesrat shall specify the joint
tasks as well as the details of coordination.
3. In cases to which clause 1 of paragraph (1) of this Article applies, the Federation
shall finance one half of the expenditure in each Land. In cases to which clause 2 of
paragraph (1) of this Article applies, the Federation shall finance at least one half of
the expenditure, and the proportion shall be the same for all Länder. Details shall be
regulated by law. The provision of funds shall be subject to appropriation in the
budgets of the Federation and the Länder.
4. (repealed)
5. (repealed)
• Subsidiary unit government Article 91b: [Education programmes and promotion of

research]
1. The Federation and the Länder may mutually agree to cooperate in cases of
supraregional importance in the promotion of:
1. research facilities and projects apart from institutions of higher education;
2. scientific projects and research at institutions of higher education;
3. construction of facilities at institutions of higher education, including large
scientific installations.
Agreements under clause 2 of paragraph (1) shall require the consent of all the
Länder.
2. The Federation and the Länder may mutually agree to cooperate for the
assessment of the performance of educational systems in international comparison
and in drafting relevant reports and recommendations.
3. The apportionment of costs shall be regulated in the pertinent agreement.
• Subsidiary unit government Article 91c: [Information technology systems]

1. The Federation and the Länder may cooperate in planning, constructing, and
operating information technology systems needed to discharge their responsibilities.
2. The Federation and the Länder may agree to specify the standards and security
requirements necessary for exchanges between their information technology
systems. Agreements regarding the bases of cooperation under the first sentence
may provide, for individual responsibilities determined by their content and scope,
that detailed regulations be enacted with the consent of a qualified majority of the
Federation and the Länder as laid down in the agreements. They require the consent
of the Bundestag and the legislatures of the participating Länder; the right to
withdraw from these agreements cannot be precluded. The agreements shall also
regulate the sharing of costs.
3. The Länder may also agree on the joint operation of information technology
systems along with the establishment of installations for that purpose.
4. For linking the information networks of the Federation and the Länder, the
Federation shall establish a connecting network. Details regarding the establishment
and the operation of the connecting network shall be regulated by a federal law with
the consent of the Bundesrat.

• Subsidiary unit government Article 91d: [Comparison of performance]

With a view to ascertaining and improving the performance of their administrations,
the Federation and the Länder may conduct comparative studies and publish the
results thereof.
• Municipal government
• Subsidiary unit government
Article 91e: [Cooperation in respect of basic support for
persons seeking employment]
1. In the execution of federal laws in the field of basic support for persons seeking
employment the Federation and the Länder or the municipalities and associations of
municipalities responsible pursuant to Land law shall generally cooperate in joint
institutions.
2. The Federation may authorise a limited number of municipalities and
associations of municipalities, at their request and with the consent of the highest
Land authority, to discharge the tasks pursuant to paragraph (1) alone. In this case,
the Federation shall bear the necessary expenditures including the administrative
expenses for the tasks which are to be discharged by the Federation in the execution
of laws pursuant to paragraph (1).
3. Details shall be regulated by a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat.
IX. The Judiciary
• Administrative courts
• Constitutional court
Article 92: [Court organisation]
• Military courts
• Labor courts
• Structure of the courts The judicial power shall be vested in the judges; it shall be exercised by the Federal
Constitutional Court, by the federal courts provided for in this Basic Law, and by the
courts of the Länder.

Article 93: [Jurisdiction of the Federal Constitutional
• Military courts Court]
• Labor courts
1. The Federal Constitutional Court shall rule:

1. on the interpretation of this Basic Law in the event of disputes concerning the
extent of the rights and duties of a supreme federal body or of other parties
vested with rights of their own by this Basic Law or by the rules of procedure of
a supreme federal body;
2. in the event of disagreements or doubts concerning the formal or substantive
compatibility of federal law or Land law with this Basic Law, or the compatibility
of Land law with other federal law, on application of the Federal Government, of
a Land government, or of one fourth of the Members of the Bundestag;
2a. in the event of disagreements whether a law meets the requirements of
paragraph (2) of Article 72, on application of the Bundesrat or of the
government or legislature of a Land;
3. in the event of disagreements concerning the rights and duties of the Federation
and the Länder, especially in the execution of federal law by the Länder and in
the exercise of federal oversight;
4. on other disputes involving public law between the Federation and the Länder,
between different Länder, or within a Land, unless there is recourse to another
court;

4a. on constitutional complaints, which may be filed by any person alleging that
one of his basic rights or one of his rights under paragraph (4) of Article 20 or
under Article 33, 38, 101, 103 or 104 has been infringed by public authority;
4b. on constitutional complaints filed by municipalities or associations of
municipalities on the ground that their right to self-government under Article 28
has been infringed by a law; in the case of infringement by a Land law, however,
only if the law cannot be challenged in the constitutional court of the Land;
4c. on complaints of associations against their non-recognition as party for the
election to the German Federal Assembly;
5. in the other instances provided for in this Basic Law.
2. At the request of the Bundesrat, a Land government or the parliamentary
assembly of a Land, the Federal Constitutional Court shall also rule whether in cases
falling under paragraph (4) of Article 72 the need for a regulation by federal law does
not exist any longer or whether in the cases referred to in clause 1 of paragraph (2)
of Article 125a federal law could not be enacted any longer. The Court's
determination that the need has ceased to exist or that federal law could no longer
be enacted substitutes a federal law according to paragraph (4) of Article 72 or
clause 2 of paragraph (2) of Article 125a. A request under the first sentence is
admissible only if a bill falling under paragraph (4) of Article 72 or the second
sentence of paragraph (2) of Article 125a has been rejected by the German
Bundestag or if it has not been considered and determined upon within one year, or
if a similar bill has been rejected by the Bundesrat.
3. The Federal Constitutional Court shall also rule on such other matters as shall be
assigned to it by a federal law.
Article 94: [Composition of the Federal Constitutional
• Military courts
• Labor courts Court]
1. The Federal Constitutional Court shall consist of federal judges and other
members. Half the members of the Federal Constitutional Court shall be elected by
the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat. They may not be members of the
Bundestag, of the Bundesrat, of the Federal Government, or of any of the
corresponding bodies of a Land.
2. The organisation and procedure of the Federal Constitutional Court shall be
regulated by a federal law, which shall specify in which instances its decisions shall
have the force of law. The law may require that all other legal remedies be exhausted
before a constitutional complaint may be fi led, and may provide for a separate
proceeding to determine whether the complaint will be accepted for decision.
Article 95: [Supreme federal courts]
• Military courts
• Labor courts
• Structure of the courts 1. The Federation shall establish the Federal Court of Justice, the Federal
Administrative Court, the Federal Finance Court, the Federal Labour Court and the
Federal Social Court as supreme courts of ordinary, administrative, financial, labour
and social jurisdiction.
2. The judges of each of these courts shall be chosen jointly by the competent
Federal Minister and a committee for the selection of judges consisting of the
competent Land ministers and an equal number of members elected by the
Bundestag.
3. A Joint Chamber of the courts specified in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be
established to preserve the uniformity of decisions. Details shall be regulated by a
federal law.

Article 96: [Other federal courts]
• Military courts
• Labor courts
1. The Federation may establish a federal court for matters concerning industrial
property rights.
2. The Federation may establish federal military criminal courts for the Armed
Forces. These courts may exercise criminal jurisdiction only during a state of defence
or over members of the Armed Forces serving abroad or on board warships. Details
shall be regulated by a federal law. These courts shall be under the aegis of the
Federal Minister of Justice. Their full-time judges shall be persons qualified to hold
judicial office.
3. The supreme court of review from the courts designated in paragraphs (1) and (2)
of this Article shall be the Federal Court of Justice.
4. The Federation may establish federal courts for disciplinary proceedings against,
and for proceedings on complaints by, persons in the federal public service.
5. With the consent of the Bundesrat, a federal law may provide that courts of the
Länder shall exercise federal jurisdiction over criminal proceedings in the following
matters:
1. genocide;
2. crimes against humanity under international criminal law;
3. war crimes;
4. other acts tending to and undertaken with the intent to disturb the peaceful
relations between nations (paragraph (1) of Article 26);
5. state security.
Article 97: [Judicial independence]

1. Judges shall be independent and subject only to the law.
2. Judges appointed permanently to full-time positions may be involuntarily
dismissed, permanently or temporarily suspended, transferred or retired before the
expiration of their term of office only by virtue of judicial decision and only for the
reasons and in the manner specified by the laws. The legislature may set age limits
for the retirement of judges appointed for life. In the event of changes in the
structure of courts or in their districts, judges may be transferred to another court or
removed from office, provided they retain their full salary.
Article 98: [Legal status of judges - Impeachment]

1. The legal status of federal judges shall be regulated by a special federal law.
2. If a federal judge infringes the principles of this Basic Law or the constitutional
order of a Land in his official capacity or unofficially, the Federal Constitutional
Court, upon application of the Bundestag, may by a two-thirds majority order that
the judge be transferred or retired. In the case of an intentional infringement it may
order him dismissed.
3. The legal status of the judges in the Länder shall be regulated by special Land laws
if clause 27 of paragraph (1) of Article 74 does not otherwise provide.
4. The Länder may provide that Land judges shall be chosen jointly by the Land
Minister of Justice and a committee for the selection of judges.
5. The Länder may enact provisions regarding Land judges that correspond with
those of paragraph (2) of this Article. Existing Land constitutional law shall not be
affected. The decision in cases of judicial impeachment shall rest with the Federal
Constitutional Court.

Article 99: [Constitutional disputes within a Land]

A Land law may assign the decision of constitutional disputes within a Land to the
Federal Constitutional Court, and the final decision in matters involving the
application of Land law to the supreme courts specified in paragraph (1) of Article 95.
• Constitutional interpretation
• Constitutionality of legislation
Article 100: [Concrete judicial review]
1. If a court concludes that a law on whose validity its decision depends is
unconstitutional, the proceedings shall be stayed, and a decision shall be obtained
from the Land court with jurisdiction over constitutional disputes where the
constitution of a Land is held to be violated, or from the Federal Constitutional Court
where this Basic Law is held to be violated. This provision shall also apply where the
Basic Law is held to be violated by Land law and where a Land law is held to be
incompatible with a federal law.
2. If, in the course of litigation, doubt exists whether a rule of international law is an
integral part of federal law and whether it directly creates rights and duties for the
individual (Article 25), the court shall obtain a decision from the Federal
Constitutional Court.
3. If the constitutional court of a Land, in interpreting this Basic Law, proposes to
deviate from a decision of the Federal Constitutional Court or of the constitutional
court of another Land, it shall obtain a decision from the Federal Constitutional
Court.
Article 101: [Ban on extraordinary courts]

1. Extraordinary courts shall not be allowed. No one may be removed from the
jurisdiction of his lawful judge.
2. Courts for particular fields of law may be established only by a law.
• Prohibition of capital punishment Article 102: [Abolition of capital punishment]

Capital punishment is abolished.
Article 103: [Fair trial]

1. In the courts every person shall be entitled to a hearing in accordance with law.
2. An act may be punished only if it was defined by a law as a criminal offence before
the act was committed.
3. No person may be punished for the same act more than once under the general
criminal laws.
• Protection from unjustified restraint Article 104: [Deprivation of liberty]

1. Liberty of the person may be restricted only pursuant to a formal law and only in
compliance with the procedures prescribed therein. Persons in custody may not be
subjected to mental or physical mistreatment.
2. Only a judge may rule upon the permissibility or continuation of any deprivation
of liberty. If such a deprivation is not based on a judicial order, a judicial decision shall
be obtained without delay. The police may hold no one in custody on their own
authority beyond the end of the day following the arrest. Details shall be regulated
by a law.

3. Any person provisionally detained on suspicion of having committed a criminal

offence shall be brought before a judge no later than the day following his arrest; the
judge shall inform him of the reasons for the arrest, examine him, and give him an
opportunity to raise objections. The judge shall, without delay, either issue a written
arrest warrant setting forth the reasons therefor or order his release.
4. A relative or a person enjoying the confidence of the person in custody shall be
notified without delay of any judicial decision imposing or continuing a deprivation of
liberty.
X. Finance
Article 104a: [Apportionment of expenditures - Financial

system - Liability]
1. The Federation and the Länder shall separately finance the expenditures
resulting from the discharge of their respective responsibilities insofar as this Basic
Law does not otherwise provide.
2. Where the Länder act on federal commission, the Federation shall finance the
resulting expenditures.
3. Federal laws providing for money grants to be administered by the Länder may
provide that the Federation shall pay for such grants wholly or in part. If any such law
provides that the Federation shall finance one half or more of the expenditure, it
shall be executed by the Länder on federal commission.
4. Federal laws that oblige the Länder to provide money grants, benefits in kind or
comparable services to third persons and which are executed by the Länder in their
own right or according to the second sentence of paragraph (3) on commission of the
Federation shall require the consent of the Bundesrat if the expenditure resulting
therefrom shall be borne by the Länder.
5. The Federation and the Länder shall finance the administrative expenditures
incurred by their respective authorities and shall be responsible to one another for
ensuring proper administration. Details shall be regulated by a federal law requiring
the consent of the Bundesrat.
6. In accord with the internal allocation of competencies and responsibilities, the
Federation and the Länder shall bear the costs entailed by a violation of obligations
incumbent on Germany under supranational or international law. In cases of
financial corrections by the European Union with effect transcending one specific
Land, the Federation and the Länder shall bear such costs at a ratio of 15 to 85. In
such cases, the Länder as a whole shall be responsible in solidarity for 35 per cent of
the total burden according to a general formula; 50 per cent of the total burden shall
be borne by those Länder which have caused the encumbrance, adjusted to the size
of the amount of the financial means received. Details shall be regulated by a federal
law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat.
Article 104b: [Financial assistance for investments]

1. To the extent that this Basic Law confers on it the power to legislate, the
Federation may grant the Länder financial assistance for particularly important
investments by the Länder and municipalities (associations of municipalities) which
are necessary to:
1. avert a disturbance of the overall economic equilibrium;

2. equalise differing economic capacities within the federal territory; or

3. promote economic growth.
In deviating from the first sentence, the Federation may grant financial assistance
even outside its field of legislative powers in cases of natural disasters or exceptional
emergency situations beyond governmental control and substantially harmful to the
state's financial capacity.
2. Details, especially with respect to the kinds of investments to be promoted, shall
be regulated by a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat or by an
executive agreement based on the federal budget law. The duration of the grants
shall be limited and the grants must be reviewed at regular intervals with respect to
the manner in which they are used. The financial assistance must be designed with
descending annual contributions.
3. Upon request, the Bundestag, the Federal Government as well as the Bundesrat
shall be informed about the implementation of such measures and the improvements
reached.
Article 105: [Distribution of powers regarding tax laws]

1. The Federation shall have exclusive power to legislate with respect to customs
duties and fiscal monopolies.
2. The Federation shall have concurrent power to legislate with respect to all other
taxes the revenue from which accrues to it wholly or in part or as to which the
conditions provided for in paragraph (2) of Article 72 apply.
2a. The Länder shall have power to legislate with regard to local taxes on
consumption and expenditures so long and insofar as such taxes are not substantially
similar to taxes regulated by federal law. They are empowered to determine the rate
of the tax on acquisition of real estate.
3. Federal laws relating to taxes the revenue from which accrues wholly or in part to
the Länder or to municipalities (associations of municipalities) shall require the
• Subsidiary unit government Article 106: [Apportionment of tax revenue and yield of
fiscal monopolies]
1. The yield of fiscal monopolies and the revenue from the following taxes shall
accrue to the Federation:
1. customs duties;
2. taxes on consumption insofar as they do not accrue to the Länder pursuant to
paragraph (2), or jointly to the Federation and the Länder in accordance with
paragraph (3), or to municipalities in accordance with paragraph (6) of this
Article;
3. the road freight tax, motor vehicle tax, and other taxes on transactions related
to motorised vehicles;
4. the taxes on capital transactions, insurance and bills of exchange;
5. non-recurring levies on property and equalisation of burdens levies;
6. income and corporation surtaxes;
7. levies imposed within the framework of the European Communities.
2. Revenue from the following taxes shall accrue to the Länder:
1. the property tax;
2. the inheritance tax;

3. the motor vehicle tax;

4. such taxes on transactions as do not accrue to the Federation pursuant to
paragraph (1) or jointly to the Federation and the Länder pursuant to paragraph
(3) of this Article
5. the beer tax;
6. the tax on gambling establishments.
3. Revenue from income taxes, corporation taxes and turnover taxes shall accrue
jointly to the Federation and the Länder (joint taxes) to the extent that the revenue
from the income tax and the turnover tax is not allocated to municipalities pursuant
to paragraphs (5) and (5a) of this Article. The Federation and the Länder shall share
equally the revenues from income taxes and corporation taxes. The respective
shares of the Federation and the Länder in the revenue from the turnover tax shall
be determined by a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat. Such
determination shall be based on the following principles:
1. The Federation and the Länder shall have an equal claim against current
revenues to cover their necessary expenditures. The extent of such
expenditures shall be determined with due regard to multi-year financial
planning.
2. The financial requirements of the Federation and of the Länder shall be
coordinated in such a way as to establish a fair balance, avoid excessive burdens
on taxpayers, and ensure uniformity of living standards throughout the federal
territory.
In determining the respective shares of the Federation and the Länder in the
revenue from the turnover tax, reductions in revenue incurred by the Länder from 1
January 1996 because of the provisions made with respect to children in the income
tax law shall also be taken into account. Details shall be regulated by the federal law
enacted pursuant to the third sentence of this paragraph.
4. The respective shares of the Federation and the Länder in the revenue from the
turnover tax shall be apportioned anew whenever the ratio of revenues to
expenditures of the Federation becomes substantially different from that of the
Länder; reductions in revenue that are taken into account in determining the
respective shares of revenue from the turnover tax under the fifth sentence of
paragraph (3) of this Article shall not be considered in this regard. If a federal law
imposes additional expenditures on or withdraws revenue from the Länder, the
additional burden may be compensated for by federal grants pursuant to a federal
law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat, provided the additional burden is limited
to a short period of time. This law shall establish the principles for calculating such
grants and distributing them among the Länder.
5. A share of the revenue from the income tax shall accrue to the municipalities, to
be passed on by the Länder to their municipalities on the basis of the income taxes
paid by their inhabitants. Details shall be regulated by a federal law requiring the
consent of the Bundesrat. This law may provide that municipalities may establish
supplementary or reduced rates with respect to their share of the tax.
5a. From and after 1 January 1998, a share of the revenue from the turnover tax
shall accrue to the municipalities. It shall be passed on by the Länder to their
municipalities on the basis of a formula reflecting geographical and economic factors.
Details shall be regulated by a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat.

6. Revenue from taxes on real property and trades shall accrue to the
municipalities; revenue from local taxes on consumption and expenditures shall
accrue to the municipalities or, as may be provided for by Land legislation, to
associations of municipalities. Municipalities shall be authorised to establish the
rates at which taxes on real property and trades are levied, within the framework of
the laws. If there are no municipalities in a Land, revenue from taxes on real property
and trades as well as from local taxes on consumption and expenditures shall accrue
to the Land. The Federation and the Länder may participate, by virtue of an
apportionment, in the revenue from the tax on trades. Details regarding such
apportionment shall be regulated by a federal law requiring the consent of the
Bundesrat. In accordance with Land legislation, taxes on real property and trades as
well as the municipalities' share of revenue from the income tax and the turnover tax
may be taken as a basis for calculating the amount of apportionment.
7. An overall percentage of the Land share of total revenue from joint taxes, to be
determined by Land legislation, shall accrue to the municipalities or associations of
municipalities. In all other respects Land legislation shall determine whether and to
what extent revenue from Land taxes shall accrue to municipalities (associations of
municipalities).
8. If in individual Länder or municipalities (associations of municipalities) the
Federation requires special facilities to be established that directly result in an
increase of expenditure or in reductions in revenue (special burden) to these Länder
or municipalities (associations of municipalities), the Federation shall grant the
necessary compensation if and insofar as the Länder or municipalities (associations
of municipalities) cannot reasonably be expected to bear the burden. In granting
such compensation, due account shall be taken of indemnities paid by third parties
and financial benefits accruing to these Länder or municipalities (associations of
municipalities) as a result of the establishment of such facilities.
9. For the purpose of this Article, revenues and expenditures of municipalities
(associations of municipalities) shall also be deemed to be revenues and
expenditures of the Länder.
Article 106a: [Federal grants for local mass transit]

Beginning 1 January 1996 the Länder shall be entitled to an allocation of federal tax
revenues for purposes of local mass transit. Details shall be regulated by a federal
law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat. Allocations made pursuant to the first
sentence of this Article shall not be taken into account in determining the financial
capacity of a Land under paragraph (2) of Article 107.
Article 106b: [Länder share of motor vehicle tax]

As of 1 July 2009, following the transfer of the motor vehicle tax to the Federation,
the Länder shall be entitled to a sum from the tax revenue of the Federation. Details
shall be regulated by a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat.

• Subsidiary unit government Article 107: [Distribution of tax revenue - Financial

equalisation among the Länder - Supplementary grants]
1. Revenue from Land taxes and the Land share of revenue from income and
corporation taxes shall accrue to the individual Länder to the extent that such taxes
are collected by finance authorities within their respective territories (local
revenue). Details regarding the delimitation as well as the manner and scope of
allotment of local revenue from corporation and wage taxes shall be regulated by a
federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat. This law may also provide for the
delimitation and allotment of local revenue from other taxes. The Land share of
revenue from the turnover tax shall accrue to the individual Länder on a per capita
basis; a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat may provide for the grant
of supplementary shares not exceeding one quarter of a Land share to Länder whose
per capita income from Land taxes, from income and corporation taxes and from
taxes under Article 106b ranks below the average of all the Länder combined; with
respect to the tax on the acquisition of real estate, the capacity to generate revenue
shall be considered.
2. Such law shall ensure a reasonable equalisation of the disparate financial
capacities of the Länder, with due regard for the financial capacities and needs of
municipalities (associations of municipalities). It shall specify the conditions
governing the claims of Länder entitled to equalisation payments and the liabilities of
Länder required to make them as well as the criteria for determining the amounts of
such payments. It may also provide for grants to be made by the Federation to
financially weak Länder from its own funds to assist them in meeting their general
financial needs (supplementary grants).
Article 108: [Financial administration of the Federation

and the Länder - Financial courts]
1. Customs duties, fiscal monopolies, taxes on consumption regulated by a federal
law, including the turnover tax on imports, the motor vehicle tax and other
transaction taxes related to motorised vehicles as from 1 July 2009, and charges
imposed within the framework of the European Communities shall be administered
by federal finance authorities. The organisation of these authorities shall be
regulated by a federal law. Inasmuch as intermediate authorities have been
established, their heads shall be appointed in consultation with the Land
governments.
2. All other taxes shall be administered by the financial authorities of the Länder.
The organisation of these authorities and the uniform training of their civil servants
may be regulated by a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat. Inasmuch
as intermediate authorities have been established, their heads shall be appointed in
agreement with the Federal Government.
3. To the extent that taxes accruing wholly or in part to the Federation are
administered by revenue authorities of the Länder, those authorities shall act on
federal commission. Paragraphs (3) and (4) of Article 85 shall apply, provided that
the Federal Minister of Finance shall take the place of the Federal Government.

4. Where and to the extent that execution of the tax laws will be substantially
facilitated or improved thereby, a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat
may provide for collaboration between federal and Land revenue authorities in
matters of tax administration, for the administration of taxes enumerated in
paragraph (1) of this Article by revenue authorities of the Länder, or for the
administration of other taxes by federal revenue authorities. The functions of Land
revenue authorities in the administration of taxes whose revenue accrues
exclusively to municipalities (associations of municipalities) may be delegated by the
Länder to municipalities (associations of municipalities) wholly or in part.
5. The procedures to be followed by federal revenue authorities shall be prescribed
by a federal law. The procedures to be followed by Land revenue authorities or, as
provided by the second sentence of paragraph (4) of this Article, by municipalities
(associations of municipalities) may be prescribed by a federal law requiring the
6. Financial jurisdiction shall be uniformly regulated by a federal law.
7. The Federal Government may issue general administrative rules which, to the
extent that administration is entrusted to Land revenue authorities or to
municipalities (associations of municipalities), shall require the consent of the
Bundesrat.
Article 109: [Budget management in the Federation and

the Länder]
1. The Federation and the Länder shall be autonomous and independent of one
another in the management of their respective budgets.
2. The Federation and the Länder shall perform jointly the obligations of the Federal
Republic of Germany resulting from legal acts of the European Community for the
maintenance of budgetary discipline pursuant to Article 104 of the Treaty
Establishing the European Community and shall, within this framework, give due
regard to the requirements of overall economic equilibrium.
3. The budgets of the Federation and the Länder shall in principle be balanced
without revenue from credits. The Federation and Länder may introduce rules
intended to take into account, symmetrically in times of upswing and downswing, the
effects of market developments that deviate from normal conditions, as well as
exceptions for natural disasters or unusual emergency situations beyond
governmental control and substantially harmful to the state's financial capacity. For
such exceptional regimes, a corresponding amortisation plan must be adopted.
Details for the budget of the Federation shall be governed by Article 115 with the
proviso that the first sentence shall be deemed to be satisfied if revenue from credits
does not exceed 0.35 percent in relation to the nominal gross domestic product. The
Länder themselves shall regulate details for the budgets within the framework of
their constitutional powers, the proviso being that the first sentence shall only be
deemed to be satisfied if no revenue from credits is admitted.
4. A federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat may establish principles
applicable to both the Federation and the Länder governing budgetary law, the
responsiveness of budgetary management to economic trends, and long-term
financial planning.

5. Sanctions imposed by the European Community on the basis of the provisions of

Article 104 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community in the interest of
maintaining budgetary discipline, shall be borne by the Federation and the Länder at
a ratio of 65 to 35 percent. In solidarity, the Länder as a whole shall bear 35 percent
of the charges incumbent on the Länder according to the number of their
inhabitants; 65 percent of the charges incumbent on the Länder shall be borne by the
Länder according to their degree of causation. Details shall be regulated by a federal
law which shall require the consent of the Bundesrat.
Article 109a: [Budgetary emergencies]

To avoid a budgetary emergency, a federal law requiring the consent of the
Bundesrat shall provide for:
1. the continuing supervision of budgetary management of the Federation and the
Länder by a joint body (Stability Council),
2. the conditions and procedures for ascertaining the threat of a budgetary
emergency,
3. the principles for the establishment and administration of programs for taking
care of budgetary emergencies.
The decisions of the Stability Council and the accompanying documents shall be
published.
Article 110: [Federal budget]

1. All revenues and expenditures of the Federation shall be included in the budget;
in the case of federal enterprises and special trusts, only payments to or remittances
from them need be included. The budget shall be balanced with respect to revenues
and expenditures.
2. The budget for one or more fiscal years shall be set forth in a law enacted before
the beginning of the first year and making separate provision for each year. The law
may provide that various parts of the budget apply to different periods of time,
divided by fiscal years.
3. Bills to comply with the first sentence of paragraph (2) of this Article as well as
bills to amend the Budget Law or the budget itself shall be submitted simultaneously
to the Bundesrat and to the Bundestag; the Bundesrat shall be entitled to comment
on such bills within six weeks or, in the case of amending bills, within three weeks.
4. The Budget Law may contain only such provisions as relate to federal revenues
and expenditures and to the period for which it is enacted. The Budget Law may
specify that its provisions shall expire only upon promulgation of the next Budget
Law or, in the event of an authorisation pursuant to Article 115, at a later date.
Article 111: [Interim budget management]

1. If, by the end of a fiscal year, the budget for the following year has not been
adopted by a law, the Federal Government, until such law comes into force, may
make all expenditures that are necessary:
a. to maintain institutions established by a law and to carry out measures
authorised by a law;
b. to meet the legal obligations of the Federation;
c. to continue construction projects, procurements, and the provision of other
benefits or services, or to continue to make grants for these purposes, to the
extent that amounts have already been appropriated in the budget of a previous
year.

2. To the extent that revenues based upon specific laws and derived from taxes, or
duties, or other sources, or the working capital reserves, do not cover the
expenditures referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article, the Federal Government
may borrow the funds necessary to sustain current operations up to a maximum of
one quarter of the total amount of the previous budget.
Article 112: [Extrabudgetary expenditures]

Expenditures in excess of budgetary appropriations or for purposes not
contemplated by the budget shall require the consent of the Federal Minister of
Finance. Such consent may be given only in the event of an unforeseen and
unavoidable necessity. Details may be regulated by a federal law.
• Spending bills Article 113: [Increase of expenditures]

1. Laws that increase the budget expenditures proposed by the Federal
Government, or entail or will bring about new expenditures, shall require the
consent of the Federal Government. This requirement shall also apply to laws that
entail or will bring about decreases in revenue. The Federal Government may
demand that the Bundestag postpone its vote on bills to this effect. In this event the
Federal Government shall submit its comments to the Bundestag within six weeks.
2. Within four weeks after the Bundestag has adopted such a law, the Federal
Government may demand that it vote on the law a second time.
3. If the bill has become law pursuant to Article 78, the Federal Government may
withhold its consent only within six weeks and only after having initiated the
procedure provided for in the third and fourth sentences of paragraph (1) or in
paragraph (2) of this Article. Upon the expiration of this period such consent shall be
deemed to have been given.
Article 114: [Submission and auditing of accounts]

1. For the purpose of discharging the Federal Government, the Federal Minister of
Finance shall submit annually to the Bundestag and to the Bundesrat an account of
all revenues and expenditures as well as of assets and debts during the preceding
fiscal year.
2. The Federal Court of Audit, whose members shall enjoy judicial independence,
shall audit the account and determine whether public finances have been properly
and efficiently administered. It shall submit an annual report directly to the
Bundestag and the Bundesrat as well as to the Federal Government. In other
respects the powers of the Federal Court of Audit shall be regulated by a federal law.
• Emergency provisions Article 115: [Limits of borrowing]

1. The borrowing of funds and the assumption of surety obligations, guarantees, or
other commitments that may lead to expenditures in future fiscal years shall require
authorisation by a federal law specifying or permitting computation of the amounts
involved.

2. Revenues and expenditures shall in principle be balanced without revenue from

credits. This principle shall be satisfied when revenue obtained by the borrowing of
funds does not exceed 0.35 percent in relation to the nominal gross domestic
product. In addition, when economic developments deviate from normal conditions,
effects on the budget in periods of upswing and downswing must be taken into
account symmetrically. Deviations of actual borrowing from the credit limits
specified under the first to third sentences are to be recorded on a control account;
debits exceeding the threshold of 1.5 percent in relation to the nominal gross
domestic product are to be reduced in accordance with the economic cycle. The
regulation of details, especially the adjustment of revenue and expenditures with
regard to financial transactions and the procedure for the calculation of the yearly
limit on net borrowing, taking into account the economic cycle on the basis of a
procedure for adjusting the cycle together with the control and balancing of
deviations of actual borrowing from the credit limit, requires a federal law. In cases
of natural catastrophes or unusual emergency situations beyond governmental
control and substantially harmful to the state's financial capacity, these credit limits
may be exceeded on the basis of a decision by a majority of the Bundestag's
Members. The decision has to be combined with an amortisation plan. Repayment of
the credits borrowed under the sixth sentence must be accomplished within an
appropriate period of time.
Xa. State of Defence
• Emergency provisions Article 115a: [Declaration of state of defence]

1. Any determination that the federal territory is under attack by armed force or
imminently threatened with such an attack (state of defence) shall be made by the
Bundestag with the consent of the Bundesrat. Such determination shall be made on
application of the Federal Government and shall require a two-thirds majority of the
votes cast, which shall include at least a majority of the Members of the Bundestag.
2. If the situation imperatively calls for immediate action, and if insurmountable
obstacles prevent the timely convening of the Bundestag or the Bundestag cannot
muster a quorum, the Joint Committee shall make this determination by a two-thirds
majority of the votes cast, which shall include at least a majority of its members.
3. The determination shall be promulgated by the Federal President in the Federal
Law Gazette pursuant to Article 82. If this cannot be done in time, promulgation shall
be effected in another manner; the determination shall be printed in the Federal Law
Gazette as soon as circumstances permit.
4. If the federal territory is under attack by armed force, and if the competent
federal authorities are not in a position at once to make the determination provided
for in the first sentence of paragraph (1) of this Article, the determination shall be
deemed to have been made and promulgated at the time the attack began. The
Federal President shall announce that time as soon as circumstances permit.
5. If the determination of a state of defence has been promulgated, and if the
federal territory is under attack by armed force, the Federal President, with the
consent of the Bundestag, may issue declarations under international law regarding
the existence of the state of defence. Under the conditions specified in paragraph (2)
of this Article, the Joint Committee shall act in place of the Bundestag.

• Head of government powers Article 115b: [Power of command of the Federal

Chancellor]
Upon the promulgation of a state of defence the power of command over the Armed
Forces shall pass to the Federal Chancellor.
Article 115c: [Extension of the legislative powers of the

Federation]
1. The Federation shall have the right to legislate concurrently for a state of defence
even with respect to matters within the legislative powers of the Länder. Such laws
shall require the consent of the Bundesrat.
2. To the extent required by circumstances during a state of defence, a federal law
for a state of defence may:
1. make temporary provisions concerning compensation in the event of
expropriation that deviate from the requirements of the second sentence of
paragraph (3) of Article 14;
2. establish a time limit for deprivations of freedom different from that specified in
the third sentence of paragraph (2) and the first sentence of paragraph (3) of
Article 104, but not exceeding four days, for cases in which no judge has been
able to act within the time limit that normally applies.
3. To the extent necessary to repel an existing or imminently threatened attack, a
federal law for a state of defence may, with the consent of the Bundesrat, regulate
the administration and finances of the Federation and the Länder without regard to
Titles VIII, VIIIa and X of this Basic Law, provided that the viability of the Länder,
municipalities, and associations of municipalities, especially with respect to financial
matters, is assured.
4. Federal laws enacted pursuant to paragraph (1) or clause 1 of paragraph (2) of
this Article may, for the purpose of preparing for their enforcement, be applied even
before a state of defence arises.
• Emergency provisions Article 115d: [Urgent bills]

1. During a state of defence the federal legislative process shall be governed by the
provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Article without regard to the provisions of
paragraph (2) of Article 76, the second sentence of paragraph (1) and paragraphs (2)
to (4) of Article 77, Article 78, and paragraph (1) of Article 82.
2. Federal Government bills that the Government designates as urgent shall be
forwarded to the Bundesrat at the same time as they are submitted to the
Bundestag. The Bundestag and the Bundesrat shall debate such bills in joint session
without delay. Insofar as the consent of the Bundesrat is necessary for any such bill
to become law, a majority of its votes shall be required. Details shall be regulated by
rules of procedure adopted by the Bundestag and requiring the consent of the
Bundesrat.
3. The second sentence of paragraph (3) of Article 115a shall apply to the
promulgation of such laws mutatis mutandis.

• Legislative committees Article 115e: [Joint Committee]

1. If, during a state of defence, the Joint Committee by a two-thirds majority of the
votes cast, which shall include at least a majority of its members, determines that
insurmountable obstacles prevent the timely convening of the Bundestag or that the
Bundestag cannot muster a quorum, the Joint Committee shall occupy the position
of both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat and shall exercise their powers as a single
body.
2. This Basic Law may neither be amended nor abrogated nor suspended in whole or
in part by a law enacted by the Joint Committee. The Joint Committee shall have no
power to enact laws pursuant to the second sentence of paragraph (1) of Article 23,
paragraph (1) of Article 24, or Article 29.
Article 115f: [Use of Federal Border Police - Extended

powers of instruction]
1. During a state of defence the Federal Government, to the extent circumstances
require, may:
1. employ the Federal Border Police throughout the federal territory;
2. issue instructions not only to federal administrative authorities but also to Land
governments and, if it deems the matter urgent, to Land authorities, and may
delegate this power to members of Land governments designated by it.
2. The Bundestag, the Bundesrat and the Joint Committee shall be informed
without delay of the measures taken in accordance with paragraph (1) of this Article.
• Legislative committees Article 115g: [Federal Constitutional Court]

Neither the constitutional status nor the performance of the constitutional functions
of the Federal Constitutional Court or its judges may be impaired. The law governing
the Federal Constitutional Court may be amended by a law enacted by the Joint
Committee only insofar as the Federal Constitutional Court agrees is necessary to
ensure that it can continue to perform its functions. Pending the enactment of such a
law, the Federal Constitutional Court may take such measures as are necessary to
this end. Determinations by the Federal Constitutional Court pursuant to the second
and third sentences of this Article shall be made by a majority of the judges present.
Article 115h: [Expiry of electoral terms and terms of office]

1. Any electoral terms of the Bundestag or of Land parliaments due to expire during
a state of defence shall end six months after the termination of the state of defence.
A term of office of the Federal President due to expire during a state of defence, and
the exercise of his functions by the President of the Bundesrat in case of the
premature vacancy of his office, shall end nine months after the termination of the
state of defence. The term of office of a member of the Federal Constitutional Court
due to expire during a state of defence shall end six months after the termination of
the state of defence.
2. Should it be necessary for the Joint Committee to elect a new Federal Chancellor,
it shall do so by the votes of a majority of its members; the Federal President shall
propose a candidate to the Joint Committee. The Joint Committee may express its
lack of confidence in the Federal Chancellor only by electing a successor by a
two-thirds majority of its members.
3. The Bundestag shall not be dissolved while a state of defence exists.

• Subsidiary unit government Article 115i: [Powers of the Land governments]

1. If the competent federal bodies are incapable of taking the measures necessary
to avert the danger, and if the situation imperatively calls for immediate independent
action in particular areas of the federal territory, the Land governments or the
authorities or representatives they designate shall be authorised, within their
respective spheres of competence, to take the measures provided for in paragraph
(1) of Article 115f.
2. Any measures taken in accordance with paragraph (1) of this Article may be
rescinded at any time by the Federal Government, or, with respect to Land
authorities and subordinate federal authorities, by Minister-Presidents of the
Länder.
Article 115k: [Rank and duration of emergency provisions]

1. Laws enacted in accordance with Articles 115c, 115e and 115g, as well as
statutory instruments issued on the basis of such laws, shall suspend the operation
of incompatible law so long as they are in effect. This provision shall not apply to
earlier law enacted pursuant to Articles 115c, 115e or 115g.
2. Laws adopted by the Joint Committee, as well as statutory instruments issued on
the basis of such laws, shall cease to have effect no later than six months after the
termination of a state of defence.
3. Laws containing provisions that diverge from Articles 91a, 91b, 104a, 106 and
107 shall apply no longer than the end of the second fiscal year following the
termination of a state of defence. After such termination they may, with the consent
of the Bundesrat, be amended by a federal law so as to revert to the provisions of
Titles VIIIa and X.
• Emergency provisions Article 115l: [Repeal of emergency measures - Conclusion

of peace]
1. The Bundestag, with the consent of the Bundesrat, may at any time repeal laws
enacted by the Joint Committee. The Bundesrat may demand that the Bundestag
reach a decision on this question. Any measures taken by the Joint Committee or by
the Federal Government to avert a danger shall be rescinded if the Bundestag and
the Bundesrat so decide.
2. The Bundestag, with the consent of the Bundesrat, may at any time, by a decision
to be promulgated by the Federal President, declare a state of defence terminated.
The Bundesrat may demand that the Bundestag reach a decision on this question. A
state of defence shall be declared terminated without delay if the conditions for
determining it no longer exist.
3. The conclusion of peace shall be determined by a federal law.

XI. Transitional and Concluding Provisions
• Requirements for birthright citizenship

• Reference to history of the country
Article 116: [Definition of "German" - Restoration of
citizenship]
1. Unless otherwise provided by a law, a German within the meaning of this Basic
Law is a person who possesses German citizenship or who has been admitted to the
territory of the German Reich within the boundaries of 31 December 1937 as a
refugee or expellee of German ethnic origin or as the spouse or descendant of such
person.
2. Former German citizens who between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945 were
deprived of their citizenship on political, racial or religious grounds, and their
descendants, shall on application have their citizenship restored. They shall be
deemed never to have been deprived of their citizenship if they have established
their domicile in Germany after 8 May 1945 and have not expressed a contrary
intention.
Article 117: [Suspended entry into force of two basic

rights]
1. Law which is inconsistent with paragraph (2) of Article 3 of this Basic Law shall
remain in force until adapted to that provision, but not beyond 31 March 1953.
2. Laws that restrict freedom of movement in view of the present housing shortage
shall remain in force until repealed by a federal law.
• Referenda Article 118: [New delimitation of Baden and Württemberg]

The division of the territory comprising Baden, Württemberg-Baden and
Württemberg-Hohenzollern into Länder may be revised, without regard to the
provisions of Article 29, by agreement between the Länder concerned. If no
agreement is reached, the revision shall be effected by a federal law, which shall
provide for an advisory referendum.
Article 118a: [New delimitation of Berlin and

Brandenburg]
The division of the territory comprising Berlin and Brandenburg into Länder may be
revised, without regard to the provisions of Article 29, by agreement between the
two Länder with the participation of their inhabitants who are entitled to vote.
• Head of government decree power Article 119: [Refugees and expellees]

In matters relating to refugees and expellees, especially as regards their distribution
among the Länder, the Federal Government, with the consent of the Bundesrat, may
issue statutory instruments having the force of law, pending settlement of the
matter by a federal law. In this connection the Federal Government may be
authorised to issue individual instructions in particular cases. Unless time is of the
essence, such instructions shall be addressed to the highest Land authorities.

Article 120: [Occupation costs - Burdens resulting from the

war]
1. The Federation shall finance the expenditures for occupation costs and other
internal and external burdens resulting from the war, as regulated in detail by
federal laws. To the extent that these war burdens were regulated by federal laws on
or before 1 October 1969, the Federation and the Länder shall finance such
expenditures in the proportion established by such federal laws. Insofar as
expenditures for such of these war burdens as neither have been nor will be
regulated by federal laws were met on or before 1 October 1965 by Länder,
municipalities (associations of municipalities), or other entities performing functions
of the Länder or municipalities, the Federation shall not be obliged to finance them
even after that date. The Federation shall be responsible for subsidies toward
meeting the costs of social security, including unemployment insurance and public
assistance to the unemployed. The distribution of war burdens between the
Federation and the Länder prescribed by this paragraph shall not be construed to
affect any law regarding claims for compensation for consequences of the war.
2. Revenue shall pass to the Federation at the time it assumes responsibility for the
expenditures referred to in this Article.
Article 120a: [Equalisation of burdens]

1. Laws implementing the equalisation of burdens may, with the consent of the
Bundesrat, provide that with respect to equalisation payments they shall be
executed partly by the Federation and partly by the Länder acting on federal
commission, and that the relevant powers vested in the Federal Government and the
competent highest federal authorities by virtue of Article 85 shall be wholly or partly
delegated to the Federal Equalisation of Burdens Office. In exercising these powers,
the Federal Equalisation of Burdens Office shall not require the consent of the
Bundesrat; except in urgent cases, its instructions shall be given to the highest Land
authorities (Land Equalisation of Burdens Offices).
2. The second sentence of paragraph (3) of Article 87 shall not be affected by this
provision.
• Size of first chamber Article 121: [Definition of "majority of the members"]

Within the meaning of this Basic Law, a majority of the Members of the Bundestag
and a majority of the members of the Federal Convention shall be a majority of the
number of their members specified by a law.
Article 122: [Date of transmission of legislative powers]

1. From the date on which the Bundestag first convenes, laws shall be enacted only
by the legislative bodies recognised by this Basic Law.
2. Legislative bodies and institutions participating in the legislative process in an
advisory capacity whose competence expires by virtue of paragraph (1) of this
Article shall be dissolved as of that date.
Article 123: [Continued applicability of pre-existing law]

1. Law in force before the Bundestag first convenes shall remain in force insofar as
it does not conflict with this Basic Law.

2. Subject to all rights and objections of interested parties, treaties concluded by

the German Reich concerning matters within the legislative competence of the
Länder under this Basic Law shall remain in force, provided they are and continue to
be valid under general principles of law, until new treaties are concluded by the
authorities competent under this Basic Law, or until they are in some other way
terminated pursuant to their provisions.
Article 124: [Continued applicability of law within the

scope of exclusive legislative power]
Law regarding matters subject to the exclusive legislative power of the Federation
shall become federal law in the area in which it applies.
Article 125: [Continued applicability of law within the

scope of concurrent legislative power]
Law regarding matters subject to the concurrent legislative power of the Federation
shall become federal law in the area in which it applies:
1. insofar as it applies uniformly within one or more occupation zones;
2. insofar as it is law by which former Reich law has been amended since 8 May
1945.
Article 125a: [Continued applicability of federal law -

Replacement by Land law]
1. Law that was enacted as federal law but that by virtue of the amendment of
paragraph (1) of Article 74, the insertion of the seventh sentence of paragraph (1) of
Article 84, the second sentence of paragraph (1) of Article 85 or of the second
sentence of paragraph (2a) of Article 105, or because of the repeal of Articles 74a, 75
or the second sentence of paragraph (3) of Article 98 could no longer be enacted as
federal law, shall remain in force as federal law. It may be superseded by Land law.
2. Law that was enacted pursuant to paragraph (2) of Article 72 as it stood up to 15
November 1994 but which, because of the amendment of paragraph (2) of Article
72, could no longer be enacted as federal law shall remain in force as federal law. A
federal law may provide that it may be superseded by Land law.
3. Law that has been enacted as Land law but which, because of the amendment of
Article 73, could not be enacted any longer as Land law shall continue in force as
Land law. It may be superseded by federal law.
Article 125b: [Continued applicability of framework laws -

Deviation power of the Länder]
1. Law that was enacted pursuant to Article 75 as it stood up to 1 September 2006,
and which could be enacted as federal law even after this date, shall remain in force
as federal law. The powers and duties of the Länder to legislate shall in this regard
remain unaffected. In the areas referred to in the first sentence of paragraph (3) of
Article 72 the Länder may enact regulations that deviate from this law; however, in
those areas covered by clauses 2, 5 and 6 of the first sentence of Article 72 the
Länder may do so only if and insofar as the Federation has made use of its power to
legislate after 1 September 2006, in those areas covered by clauses 2 and 5
beginning at the latest on 1 January 2010, in cases under clause 6 beginning at the
latest on 1 August 2008.

2. The Länder may enact regulations deviating from federal regulations enacted
pursuant to paragraph (1) of Article 84 as it stood up to 1 September 2006; up to 31
December 2008, however, they may deviate from regulations on administrative
procedure only if, after 1 September 2006, regulations on administrative procedure
in the relevant federal law have been amended.
Article 125c: [Continued applicability of law within the

scope of joint tasks]
1. Law that was enacted by virtue of paragraph (2) of Article 91a in conjunction with
clause 1 of paragraph (1) as it stood up to 1 September 2006 shall continue in force
until 31 December 2006.
2. The regulations enacted in the areas of municipal traffic financing and promotion
of social housing by virtue of paragraph (4) of Article 104a as it stood up to 1
September 2006 shall remain in force until 31 December 2006. The regulations
enacted on municipal traffic financing for special programmes pursuant to paragraph
(1) of Article 6 of the Municipal Traffic Financing Act, as well as the other regulations
enacted pursuant to paragraph (4) of Article 104a as it stood up to 1 September
2006, shall continue in force until 31 December 2019, provided no earlier repeal has
been or is determined.
Article 126: [Determination about continued applicability

of law as federal law]
Disagreements concerning the continued applicability of law as federal law shall be
resolved by the Federal Constitutional Court.
Article 127: [Extension of law to the French zone and to

Berlin]
Within one year after promulgation of this Basic Law the Federal Government, with
the consent of the governments of the Länder concerned, may extend to the Länder
of Baden, Greater Berlin, Rhineland-Palatinate and Württemberg-Hohenzollern any
law of the Administration of the Combined Economic Area, insofar as it remains in
force as federal law under Article 124 or 125.
Article 128: [Continued authority to issue instructions]

Insofar as law that remains in force grants authority to issue instructions within the
meaning of paragraph (5) of Article 84, this authority shall remain in existence until a
law otherwise provides.
Article 129: [Continued authority to issue legal acts]

1. Insofar as legal provisions that remain in force as federal law grant authority to
issue statutory instruments or general administrative rules or to make
administrative decisions in individual cases, such powers shall pass to the authorities
that henceforth have competence over the subject matter. In cases of doubt the
Federal Government shall decide in agreement with the Bundesrat; such decisions
shall be published.
2. Insofar as legal provisions that remain in force as Land law grant such authority, it
shall be exercised by the authorities competent under Land law.

3. Insofar as legal provisions within the meaning of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
Article grant authority to amend or supplement the provisions themselves or to
issue legal provisions that have the force of laws, such authority shall be deemed to
have expired.
4. The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article shall apply mutatis
mutandis to legal provisions that refer to provisions no longer in force or to
institutions no longer in existence.
Article 130: [Transfer of existing administrative

institutions]
1. Administrative agencies and other institutions that serve the public
administration or the administration of justice and are not based on Land law or on
agreements between Länder, as well as the Administrative Union of South West
German Railways and the Administrative Council for Postal and
Telecommunications Services for the French Occupation Zone, shall be placed under
the control of the Federal Government. The Federal Government, with the consent
of the Bundesrat, shall provide for their transfer, dissolution, or liquidation.
2. The supreme disciplinary authority for the personnel of these administrative
bodies and institutions shall be the competent Federal Minister.
3. Corporations and institutions under public law not directly subordinate to a Land
nor based on agreements between Länder shall be under the supervision of the
competent highest federal authority.
Article 131: [Persons formerly in the public service]

The legal relations of persons, including refugees and expellees, who on 8 May 1945
were employed in the public service, have left the service for reasons other than
those recognised by civil service regulations or collective bargaining agreements,
and have not yet been reinstated or are employed in positions that do not
correspond to those they previously held, shall be regulated by a federal law. The
same shall apply mutatis mutandis to persons, including refugees and expellees, who
on 8 May 1945 were entitled to pensions and related benefits and who for reasons
other than those recognised by civil service regulations or collective bargaining
agreements no longer receive any such pension or related benefits. Until the
pertinent federal law takes effect, no legal claims may be made, unless Land law
otherwise provides.
Article 132: [Retirement of civil servants]

1. Civil servants and judges who enjoy life tenure when this Basic Law takes effect
may, within six months after the Bundestag first convenes, be retired, suspended, or
transferred to lower-salaried positions if they lack the personal or professional
aptitude for their present positions. This provision shall apply mutatis mutandis to
salaried public employees, other than civil servants or judges, whose employment
cannot be terminated at will. In the case of salaried employees whose employment
may be terminated at will, notice periods longer than those set by collective
bargaining agreements may be rescinded within the same period.
2. The preceding provision shall not apply to members of the public service who are
unaffected by the provisions regarding "Liberation from National Socialism and
Militarism" or who are recognised victims of National Socialism, absent important
personal grounds.
3. Persons affected may have recourse to the courts in accordance with paragraph
(4) of Article 19.

4. Details shall be specified by a statutory instrument issued by the Federal

Government with the consent of the Bundesrat.
Article 133: [Succession to the Administration of the

Combined Economic Area]
The Federation shall succeed to the rights and duties of the Administration of the
Combined Economic Area.
• Reference to history of the country Article 134: [Succession to Reich assets]

1. Reich assets shall, in principle, become federal assets.
2. Insofar as such assets were originally intended to be used principally for
administrative tasks not entrusted to the Federation under this Basic Law, they shall
be transferred without compensation to the authorities now entrusted with such
tasks and to the extent that such assets are now being used, not merely temporarily,
for administrative tasks that under this Basic Law are now performed by the Länder,
they shall be transferred to the Länder. The Federation may also transfer other
assets to the Länder.
3. Assets that were placed at the disposal of the Reich without compensation by
Länder or municipalities (associations of municipalities) shall revert to those Länder
or municipalities (associations of municipalities) insofar as the Federation does not
require them for its own administrative purposes.
4. Details shall be regulated by a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat.
Article 135: [Assets in case of territorial changes between

the Länder]
1. If after 8 May 1945 and before the effective date of this Basic Law an area has
passed from one Land to another, the Land to which the area now belongs shall be
entitled to the assets of the Land to which it previously belonged that are located in
that area.
2. The assets of Länder or other public-law corporations or institutions that no
longer exist, insofar as they were originally intended to be used principally for
administrative tasks or are now being so used, not merely temporarily, shall pass to
the Land, corporation or institution that now performs those tasks.
3. Real property of Länder that no longer exist, including appurtenances, shall pass
to the Land within which it is located, insofar as it is not among the assets already
referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article.
4. Insofar as an overriding interest of the Federation or the particular interest of a
region requires, a federal law may depart from the rules prescribed by paragraphs (1)
to (3) of this Article.
5. In all other respects, the succession to and disposition of assets, insofar as it has
not been effected before 1 January 1952 by agreement between the affected Länder
or corporations or institutions established under public law, shall be regulated by a
federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat.
6. Holdings of the former Land of Prussia in enterprises established under private
law shall pass to the Federation. Details shall be regulated by a federal law, which
may also depart from this provision.

7. Insofar as assets that on the effective date of this Basic Law would devolve upon
a Land or a corporation or institution established under public law pursuant to
paragraphs (1) to (3) of this Article have been disposed of by or pursuant to a Land
law or in any other manner by the party thus entitled, the transfer of assets shall be
deemed to have taken place before such disposition.
Article 135a: [Old debts]

1. Federal legislation enacted pursuant to paragraph (4) of Article 134 or paragraph
(5) of Article 135 may also provide that the following debts shall not be discharged,
or that they shall be discharged only in part:
1. debts of the Reich, of the former Land of Prussia, or of such other corporations
and institutions under public law as no longer exist;
2. such debts of the Federation or of corporations and institutions under public law
as are connected with the transfer of assets pursuant to Article 89, 90, 134 or
135, and such debts of these bodies as arise from measures taken by the bodies
designated in clause 1;
3. such debts of the Länder or municipalities (associations of municipalities) as
have arisen from measures taken by them before 1 August 1945 within the
framework of administrative functions incumbent upon or delegated by the
Reich to comply with orders of the occupying powers or to terminate a state of
emergency resulting from the war.
2. Paragraph (1) of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to debts of the German
Democratic Republic or its institutions as well as to debts of the Federation or other
corporations and institutions under public law that are connected with the transfer
of assets of the German Democratic Republic to the Federation, Länder or
municipalities, and to debts arising from measures taken by the German Democratic
Republic or its institutions.
Article 136: [First convening of the Bundesrat]

1. The Bundesrat shall convene for the first time on the day the Bundestag first
convenes.
2. Until the election of the first Federal President, his powers shall be exercised by
the President of the Bundesrat. He shall not have authority to dissolve the
Bundestag.
Article 137: [Right of state employees to stand for election]

1. The right of civil servants, other salaried public employees, professional or
volunteer members of the Armed Forces, and judges to stand for election in the
Federation, in the Länder or in the municipalities may be restricted by a law.
2. The election of the first Bundestag, of the first Federal Convention and of the
first Federal President shall be governed by an electoral law to be enacted by the
Parliamentary Council.
3. Until the Federal Constitutional Court is established, its authority under
paragraph (2) of Article 41 shall be exercised by the German High Court for the
Combined Economic Area, which shall make determinations in accordance with its
procedural rules.

Article 138: [South German notaries]

Changes in the rules governing the notarial profession as it now exists in the Länder
of Baden, Bavaria, Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern shall
require the consent of the governments of these Länder.
Article 139: [Continued applicability of denazification

provisions]
The legal provisions enacted for the "Liberation of the German People from National
Socialism and Militarism" shall not be affected by the provisions of this Basic Law.
Article 140: [Law of religious denominations]

The provisions of Articles 136, 137, 138, 139 and 141 of the German Constitution of
11 August 1919 shall be an integral part of this Basic Law.
Article 141: ["Bremen Clause"]

The first sentence of paragraph (3) of Article 7 shall not apply in any Land in which
Land law otherwise provided on 1 January 1949.
Article 142: [Reservation in favour of basic rights in Land

constitutions]
Notwithstanding Article 31, provisions of Land constitutions shall also remain in
force insofar as they guarantee basic rights in conformity with Articles 1 to 18 of this
Basic Law.
Article 142a
(repealed)

• Treaty ratification process
Article 143: [Duration of deviations from the Basic Law]
1. The law in the territory specified in Article 3 of the Unification Treaty may
deviate from provisions of this Basic Law for a period extending no later than 31
December 1992 insofar and so long as disparate circumstances make full compliance
impossible. Deviations may not violate paragraph (2) of Article 19 and must be
compatible with the principles specified in paragraph (3) of Article 79.
2. Deviations from Titles II, VIII, VIIIa, IX, X and XI shall be permissible for a period
extending no later than 31 December 1995.
3. Independently of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article, Article 41 of the
Unification Treaty and the rules for its implementation shall also remain in effect
insofar as they provide for the irreversibility of acts interfering with property rights
in the territory specified in Article 3 of this Treaty.

Article 143a: [Exclusive legislative power concerning

federal railways]
1. The Federation shall have exclusive power to legislate with respect to all matters
arising from the transformation of federal railways administered by the Federation
into business enterprises. Paragraph (5) of Article 87e shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Civil servants employed by federal railways may be assigned by a law to render
services to federal railways established under private law without prejudice to their
legal status or the responsibility of their employer.
2. Laws enacted pursuant to paragraph (1) of this Article shall be executed by the
Federation.
3. The Federation shall continue to be responsible for local passenger services of
the former federal railways until 31 December 1995. The same shall apply to the
corresponding functions of rail transport administration. Details shall be regulated
by a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat.
Article 143b: [Privatisation of the Deutsche Bundespost]

1. The special trust Deutsche Bundespost shall be transformed into enterprises
under private law in accordance with a federal law. The Federation shall have
exclusive power to legislate with respect to all matters arising from this
transformation.
2. The exclusive rights of the Federation existing before the transformation may be
transferred by a federal law for a transitional period to the enterprises that succeed
to the Deutsche Bundespost Postdienst and to the Deutsche Bundespost Telekom.
The Federation may not surrender its majority interest in the enterprise that
succeeds to the Deutsche Bundespost Postdienst until at least five years after the
law takes effect. To do so shall require a federal law with the consent of the
Bundesrat.
3. Federal civil servants employed by the Deutsche Bundespost shall be given
positions in the private enterprises that succeed to it, without prejudice to their legal
status or the responsibility of their employer. The enterprises shall exercise the
employer's authority. Details shall be regulated by a federal law.
Article 143c: [Compensation for the cessation of joint

tasks]
1. From 1 January 2007 until 31 December 2019, the Länder shall be entitled to
receive annual payments from the federal budget as compensation for losing the
Federation's financial contributions resulting from the abolition of the joint tasks of
extension and construction of institutions of higher education, including university
hospitals and educational planning, as well as for losing financial assistance for the
improvement of municipal traffic infrastructure and for the promotion of social
housing. Until 31 December 2013, these amounts are to be determined by averaging
the financial share of the Federation for the years 2000 to 2008.
2. Until 31 December 2013, the payments pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
distributed among the Länder in the form of:
1. fixed annual payments the amounts of which shall be determined according to
the average share of each Land during the period 2000 to 2003;
2. payments earmarked for the functional area of the former joint financing.

3. Until the end of 2013, the Federation and the Länder shall review the extent to
which the financing allotted to individual Länder pursuant to paragraph (1) is still
appropriate and necessary for the discharge of their tasks. Beginning with 1 January
2014, the earmarking pursuant to clause 2 of paragraph (2) of the financial means
allotted under paragraph (1) shall cease; the earmarking for the volume of the means
for investment purposes shall remain unchanged. Agreements resulting from
Solidarity Pact II shall remain unaffected.
4. Details shall be regulated by a federal law which shall require the consent of the
Bundesrat.
• Balanced budget
• Budget bills
Article 143d: [Transitional provisions relating to
• Emergency provisions
consolidation assistance]
1. Articles 109 and 115 in the version in force until 31 July 2009 shall apply for the
last time to the 2010 budget. Articles 109 and 115 in the version in force as from 1
August 2009 shall apply for the first time to the 2011 budget; debit authorisations
existing on 31 December 2010 for special trusts already established shall remain
untouched. In the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2019, the Länder
may, in accordance with their applicable legal regulations, deviate from the
provisions of paragraph (3) of Article 109. The budgets of the Länder are to be
planned in such a way that the 2020 budget fullfils the requirements of the fifth
sentence of paragraph (3) of Article 109. In the period from 1 January 2011 to 31
December 2015, the Federation may deviate from the provisions of the second
sentence of paragraph (2) of Article 115. The reduction of the existing deficits should
begin with the 2011 budget. The annual budgets are to be planned in such a way that
the 2016 budget satisfies the requirement of the second sentence of paragraph (2)
of Article 115; details shall be regulated by federal law.
2. As assistance for compliance with the provisions of paragraph (3) of Article 109
after 1 January 2020, the Länder of Berlin, Bremen, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt, and
Schleswig-Holstein may receive, for the period 2011 to 2019, consolidation
assistance from the federal budget in the global amount of 800 million euros
annually. The respective amounts are 300 million euros for Bremen, 260 million
euros for Saarland, and 80 million euros each for Berlin, Saxony-Anhalt, and
Schleswig-Holstein. The assistance payments shall be allocated on the basis of an
administrative agreement under the terms of a federal law requiring the consent of
the Bundesrat. These grants require a complete reduction of financial deficits by the
end of 2020. The details, especially the annual steps to be taken to reduce financial
deficits, the supervision of the reduction of financial deficits by the Stability Council,
along with the consequences entailed in case of failure to carry out the step-by-step
reduction, shall be regulated by a federal law requiring the consent of the Bundesrat
and by an administrative agreement. There shall be no simultaneous granting of
consolidation assistance and redevelopment assistance on the grounds of an
extreme budgetary emergency.
3. The financial burden resulting from the granting of the consolidation assistance
shall be borne equally by the Federation and the Länder, to be financed from their
share of the value-added tax. Details shall be regulated by a federal law requiring the
Article 144: [Ratification of the Basic Law - Berlin]

1. This Basic Law shall require ratification by the parliaments of two thirds of the
German Länder in which it is initially to apply.

2. Insofar as the application of this Basic Law is subject to restrictions in any Land
listed in Article 23 or in any part thereof, such Land or part thereof shall have the
right to send representatives to the Bundestag in accordance with Article 38 and to
the Bundesrat in accordance with Article 50.
Article 145: [Entry into force of the Basic Law]

1. The Parliamentary Council, with the participation of the members for Greater
Berlin, shall confirm the ratification of this Basic Law in public session and shall
certify and promulgate it.
2. This Basic Law shall take effect at the end of the day on which it is promulgated.
3. It shall be published in the Federal Law Gazette.
Article 146: [Duration of the Basic Law]

This Basic Law, which since the achievement of the unity and freedom of Germany
applies to the entire German people, shall cease to apply on the day on which a
constitution freely adopted by the German people takes effect.

Topic index
Administrative courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 41, 42
Balanced budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Budget bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Central bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Constitution amendment procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Constitutional court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 41, 42
Constitutional court powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 25, 40
Constitutional interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Constitutionality of legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Designation of commander in chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Division of labor between chambers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31, 32
Emergency provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38, 51, 52, 53, 55, 65
Freedom of religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
General guarantee of social security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Head of government decree power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Head of government powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24, 26, 53
Head of government removal procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 27
Head of government replacement procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 27
Head of government selection procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Head of state powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Head of state removal procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Head of state replacement procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Immunity of legislators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Joint meetings of the legislative chambers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Labor courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 41, 42

Legislative committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 21, 23, 54
Mention of cabinet/ministers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25, 26

Mention of customary international law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Mention of God or other deities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 24
Mention of international law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 24, 63
Mention of regional group(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 20, 22, 36, 37
Mention of telecommunications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 37
Military courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 41, 42
Motives for writing constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Municipal government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Name/structure of executive(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23, 25
Oaths to abide by constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Ownership of natural resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Powers of cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 24, 26, 35

Prohibition of capital punishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Protection against ultra-vires administrative actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Protection from unjustified restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Protection of environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Protection of stateless persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Reference to history of the country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56, 61

Referenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Removal procedure for cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 27
Requirements for birthright citizenship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Restrictions on eligibility for cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Restrictions on eligibility for head of state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Right of petition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Right to self determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Selection procedure for first chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Size of first chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Source of constitutional authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Spending bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Structure of the courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 41

Structure of the legislative chamber(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 22
Subsidiary unit government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 39, 40, 45, 48, 55
Superiority of legislation (national vs. subnational) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Treaty ratification process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24, 63

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German Federal Republic's

This complete constitution has been generated

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 2

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 3

Article 67: [Vote of no confidence] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 4

Article 94: [Composition of the Federal Constitutional Court] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 5

Article 117: [Suspended entry into force of two basic rights] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 6

• Source of constitutional authority

Article 1: [Human dignity - Human rights - Legally binding

Article 2: [Personal freedoms]

Article 3: [Equality before the law]

• Freedom of religion Article 4: [Freedom of faith and conscience]

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 7

3. No person shall be compelled against his conscience to render military service

Article 5: [Freedom of expression, arts and sciences]

Article 6: [Marriage - Family - Children]

Article 7: [School system]

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 8

6. Preparatory schools shall remain abolished.

Article 8: [Freedom of assembly]

Article 9: [Freedom of association]

Article 10: [Privacy of correspondence, posts and

Article 11: [Freedom of movement]

Article 12: [Occupational freedom]

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 9

Article 12a: [Compulsory military and alternative civilian

Article 13: [Inviolability of the home]

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 10

Article 14: [Property - Inheritance - Expropriation]

• Ownership of natural resources Article 15: [Socialisation]

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 11

Article 16: [Citizenship - Extradition]

• Protection of stateless persons Article 16a: [Right of asylum]

• Right of petition Article 17: [Right of petition]

Article 17a: [Restriction of basic rights in specific

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 12

others, be restricted during their period of military or alternative service.

• Constitutional court powers

Article 19: [Restriction of basic rights - Legal remedies]

II. The Federation and the Länder

Article 20: [Constitutional principles - Right of resistance]

• Protection of environment Article 20a: [Protection of the natural foundations of life

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 13

Article 21: [Political parties]

Article 22: [Federal capital - Federal flag]

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 14

Article 24: [Transfer of sovereign powers - System of

• Mention of customary international law

Article 26: [Securing international peace]

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 15

Article 27: [Merchant fleet]

Article 28: [Land constitutions - Autonomy of

Article 29: [New delimitation of the federal territory]

German Federal Republic 1949 (rev. 2012) Page 16

Article 30: [Sovereign powers of the Länder]