How can the Constitutional Court be better protected from the influence of extreme parties? According to media reports, there are further discussions between the government and the Union – and apparently a first draft law.
The federal government and the Union want to better protect the Federal Constitutional Court from possible attempts to disempower it by extreme parties. According to a media report, the first draft law is now available. Accordingly, corresponding regulations should be included in the Basic Law, as the Rheinische Post quotes from a twelve-page draft from the Federal Ministry of Justice.
It is planned to reorganize Articles 93 and 94 – according to the newspaper, Article 93 also stipulates the independence of the Karlsruhe judges right from the start: “The Federal Constitutional Court is an independent and independent federal court vis-à-vis all other constitutional bodies.”
No more change with a simple majority
The basic law should stipulate the independence of the court, the number of two senates, the election of eight judges each by the Bundestag and Bundesrat as well as their term of office of twelve years and the age limit of 68 years. A subsequent or later re-election should be excluded.
The following passage should be added: “The decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court bind the constitutional bodies of the federal and state governments as well as all courts and authorities.” As the newspaper further quotes from the draft, these regulations would not be able to be changed with a simple majority in the future.
According to the Union, no agreement yet
According to information from the dpa news agency, negotiations are apparently still ongoing. The CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag confirmed this. There is still no final agreement. Further discussions should therefore take place after Easter.
Since January, there has been discussion about how the judiciary – and in particular the Federal Constitutional Court – can be protected from possible influence by extreme forces such as the AfD. So far, the law that regulates the responsibilities and procedures of the Federal Constitutional Court can be changed with a simple majority in the Bundestag. However, a two-thirds majority is required to change the Basic Law.
Lothar Lenz, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, March 28, 2024 7:23 a.m