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The German Constitution
The framers of the Federal Republic of Germany's 1949 constitution sought
to create safeguards against the emergence of either an overly fragmented,
multiparty democracy, similar to the Weimar Republic (1918-33), or authoritarian
institutions characteristic of the Nazi dictatorship of the Third Reich
(1933-45). Thus, negative historical experience played a major role in
shaping the constitution.
Articles 1 through 19 delineate basic rights that apply to all German
citizens, including equality before the law; freedom of speech, assembly,
the news media, and worship; freedom from discrimination based on race,
gender, religion, or political beliefs; and the right to conscientious
objection to compulsory military service. In reaction to the experience
of the Third Reich, the framers of the Basic Law did, however, place limits
on extremist political activities that might threaten to subvert the democratic
political order. Article 18 states: "Whoever abuses freedom of expression
of opinion, in particular freedom of the press, freedom of teaching, freedom
of assembly, freedom of association, privacy of posts and telecommunications,
property, or the right of asylum in order to combat the free democratic
basic order, shall forfeit these basic rights." Article 18 was employed
twice in the 1950s to ban political parties of the extreme right and left.
Article 18 is seen as an essential component of a wehrhafte Demokratie
--a democracy that can defend itself, unlike the Weimar Republic.
Article 20 states that "the Federal Republic of Germany is a democratic
and social federal state." The word "social" has been commonly interpreted
to mean that the state has the responsibility to provide for the basic
social welfare of its citizens. The Basic Law, however, does not enumerate
specific social duties of the state. Further, according to Article 20,
"All state authority emanates from the people. It shall be exercised by
the people by means of elections and voting and by specific legislative,
executive, and judicial organs."
Most of the Basic Law's 146 articles describe the composition and functions
of various organs of government, as well as the intricate system of checks
and balances governing their interaction. Other major issues addressed
in the Basic Law include the distribution of power between the federal
government and the state governments, the administration of federal laws,
government finance, and government administration under emergency conditions.
The Basic Law is virtually silent on economic matters; only Article 14
guarantees "property and the right of inheritance" and states that "expropriation
shall be permitted only in the public weal."
Any amendment to the Basic Law must receive the support of at least two-thirds
of the members in both federal legislative chambers--the Bundestag (Federal
Diet or lower house) and the Bundesrat (Federal Council or upper house).
Certain provisions of the Basic Law cannot be amended: those relating
to the essential structures of federalism; the division of powers; the
principles of democracy, social welfare, and fundamental rights; and the
principle of state power based on law. Of the many amendments to the Basic
Law, among the most notable are the "defense addenda" of 1954-56, which
regulate the constitutional position of the armed forces, and the "Emergency
Constitution" of 1968, which delineates wider executive powers in the
case of an internal or external emergency.
- The
Chancellor
- The President
- Legislature
- Constitution
- Federalism
- Bundestag
- Bundesrat
- Electoral System
- Political Parties
- Extraparty Political
Forces
- Geography (lands and
capitals, climate)
- Society (population, religion,
marriage, urbanization, social structure, immigration)
- Education (elementary,
junior, senior, vocational, higher)
- Economy (the Economic
Miracle, financial system, Bundesbank, business culture)
- Politics (government,
the Chancellor, the President, parties, Bundestag)
- Mass Media (newspapers,
radio and TV)
- Armed Forces (army,
navy, air forces, police)
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