The state of defence (German : Verteidigungsfall, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯dɪɡʊŋsˌfal] ) is the constitutional state of emergency in Germany if the country is "under attack by armed force or imminently threatened with such an attack". [1] Established by a constitutional amendment in 1968 during the Cold War, this state of emergency gives the Federal Government extraordinary powers in wartime. It is laid down in Title Xa of the German Constitution. As of present, Germany has never been in the state of defence.
In the Bundeswehr it is also called the V-Fall, whereas the Gehlen Organization called it the E-System or E-Fall. [2]
The preliminary stage to a state of defence is a state of tension (Article 80a). It goes hand in hand with raising the military alert level.
According to article 115a of the German Constitution, the state of defence shall be declared if "the federal territory [of the Federal Republic of Germany] is under attack by armed force or imminently threatened with such an attack".
The normal procedure is that, upon request of the Federal Government, the Bundestag determines that the conditions of the state of defence exist. That means that the Bundestag does not actually declare the state of defence; instead, it just decides whether it exists or not. (If, for example, a foreign army invaded Germany, the Bundestag would determine that the action is an "attack by armed force", as described in article 115a, and so Germany is in the state of defence.) The determination requires at least two thirds of the votes of the Bundestag present at that time (at least half of the members being the quorum [3] ). It also has to be approved by the Bundesrat with more than half of its members, which, according to general Bundesrat protocol, is given in bundled form by each Land.
According to the prevailing opinion, a terrorist attack that is limited in terms of time and location, as well as a cyber attack, can only lead to a state of defence if the destabilization triggered thereby threatens the existence of the state. In the event of catastrophes, the Bundeswehr can also be deployed domestically as a result of emergency regulations, which therefore does not justify a state of defence. [4] The Federal Constitutional Court can also declare a declaration of the state of defence in such a situation to be unconstitutional.
If the Bundestag or the Bundesrat is not able to convene in time or not able to reach a quorum, the Joint Committee decides on their behalf, but approval by the Bundestag and Bundesrat has to be achieved as quickly as possible afterwards.
If Germany is under attack by armed force and the Bundestag, the Bundesrat and the Joint Committee are not able to determine the state of defence immediately, "the determination shall be deemed to have been made and promulgated at the time the attack began". If, for example, an invasion started on January 4 at 4:17 a.m., Germany would be in the state of defence from that time, and the government could react immediately.
If the state of defence is determined, this determination is announced by the Federal President in the Federal Law Gazette. If it is not possible to promulgate this in the Federal Law Gazette, it will be promulgated in some other way, usually via the media. The determination in the Federal Law Gazette must be made up for as soon as possible.
According to Article 115b GG, the Federal Chancellor becomes Commander-in-chief of the armed forces. (Normally, the Minister of Defence holds that post.) He then combines political and military decision-making powers in his person. He does not become part of the armed forces himself and is therefore not a combatant under law of war. This concentration of powers on the Federal Chancellor was controversial. However, the soldiers swear to serve the Federal Republic of Germany faithfully and to defend the rights and freedom of the German people, which means that even in the state of defence there is no total loyalty to a person and his orders, as was the case with the Hitler Oath.
In the state of defence, the Bundeswehr has the authority under Article 87a of the Basic Law to protect civilian objects and to carry out traffic control tasks insofar as this is necessary to fulfill its defence mission. In addition, it can be assigned the protection of civilian objects to support police measures.
According to Article 115c GG, the Federal Government has extended legislative powers:
According to article 115f, paragraph (1), clause 1 GG, the Federal Government may employ the Federal Police (New name of the Federal Border Police) throughout the federal territory, everywhere in Germany. It is normally responsible for border protection, tasks of the railway police and in the field of aviation security as well as the protection of federal bodies. By law a Compulsory Border Guard Service is still in force, but will only be executed in the state of defence or if there are not enough volunteers joining the Federal Police.
According to article 115f, paragraph (1), clause 2 GG, the Federal Government may issue instructions to state governments and state authorities. (Normally, state governments act on their own, and state authorities receive their orders only from the state government.)
According to Article 115i, the state governments or the authorities designated by them have the powers that the Basic Law grants to the Federal Government in the event of a state of defence if the latter is unable to take the measures necessary to avert the imminent danger.
According to Article 115g, the following regulations apply to the Federal Constitutional Court during the state of defence. The Federal Constitutional Court Act may only be amended by the Joint Committee if the court deems it necessary to maintain its functionality. Until then, the court can take measures to maintain its functionality.
According to Article 115a, if the determination of the 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.
In 2011, the German Conscription Act was changed to suspend - but not abolish - peacetime conscription. Since July 1, conscripts may not be drafted except during a State of Tension or a state of defence. [6]
The normal legislative procedure is replaced by a faster one. According to article 115d GG, bills are discussed "without delay" and adopted by the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, in a single joint session. The promulgation can initially also be made in another way, but must be made up for in the Federal Law Gazette as soon as possible.
The Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Ausschuss) consists of members of the Bundestag and members of the Bundesrat. Two thirds of the committee members are provided by the Bundestag, one third provided by the Bundesrat. The committee members of the Bundestag are designated by the Bundestag "in proportion to the relative strength of the various parliamentary groups". Every Land is represented by a Bundesrat member. The committee members of the Bundestag must not be members of the Cabinet, and the committee members of the Bundesrat are exceptionally "not bound by instructions". There are thus 16 members of the Bundesrat (one for each Land), and 32 members of the Bundestag (twice the number of Bundesrat members), giving it a total number of 48 members. The members of the Joint Committee and their deputies are already designated during peacetime. [7]
The Joint Committee takes over the tasks of both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat if, during the state of defence, it determines, with a two-thirds majority of its vote, that either the Bundestag or the Bundesrat is not able to convene in time or reach a quorum. That majority must include at least a majority of all committee members (at least 25 members). For example, if only 30 committee members could be reached, 20 votes would be a two-thirds majority, but at least 25 votes would be required for the determination. If the Joint Committee is not able to reach full strength (48 members), the Bundestag (in case of missing or dead Bundestag committee members) and/or the state governments (in case of missing or dead Bundesrat committee members) designate new committee members. [8]
The Joint Committee takes over any task normally dealt by the Bundestag and/or the Bundesrat. All decisions which would normally be made by the either the Bundestag, or the Bundesrat, or both of them, is made by the entire Joint Committee. However, there are some limitations to the power of the Joint Committee (when compared to Bundestag and Bundesrat):
The Joint Committee is based on Articles 53a (Composition - Rules of procedure) and 115e (Joint Committee) of the constitution, as well as on own rules of procedure.
With the consent of the Bundesrat, the Bundestag has the right at any time to declare the state of defence at an end. In this way there is no risk of the Joint Committee becoming a permanent parliament.
According to article 115h GG, electoral terms that would expire during the state of defence are extended:
The dissolution of the Bundestag is excluded.
According to article 115l GG, the state of defence can be ended at any time and must be if the conditions for its determination are no longer met. The decision must be made by the Bundestag with the consent of the Bundesrat and announced by the Federal President. The Bundesrat can demand that the Bundestag decide on this. Federal law decides on the conclusion of peace.
Germany is a democratic and federal parliamentary republic, where federal legislative power is vested in the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.
The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of state of Germany.
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a single elected person who holds the office of "president", in practice, the presidency includes a much larger collective of people, such as chiefs of staff, advisers and other bureaucrats. Although often led by a single person, presidencies can also be of a collective nature, such as the presidency of the European Union is held on a rotating basis by the various national governments of the member states. Alternatively, the term presidency can also be applied to the governing authority of some churches, and may even refer to the holder of a non-governmental office of president in a corporation, business, charity, university, etc. or the institutional arrangement around them. For example, "the presidency of the Red Cross refused to support his idea." Rules and support to discourage vicarious liability leading to unnecessary pressure and the early termination of term have not been clarified. These may not be as yet supported by state let initiatives. Contributory liability and fraud may be the two most common ways to become removed from term of office and/or to prevent re-election.
The German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level. The Bundesrat meets at the former Prussian House of Lords in Berlin. Its second seat is located in the former West German capital of Bonn.
A commander-in-chief or supreme commander is the person who exercises supreme command and control over an armed force or a military branch. As a technical term, it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership, a head of state, head of government, or other designated government official.
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, they can be appended to the constitution as supplemental additions, thus changing the frame of government without altering the existing text of the document.
The Federal Convention, also known as the Federal Assembly, is, together with the Joint Committee, one of two non-standing constitutional bodies in the federal institutional system of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is convened solely for the purpose of electing the President of Germany, either every five years or within 30 days of the premature termination of a presidential term. The Federal Convention consists of all members of the German federal parliament (Bundestag) and the same number of delegates from the 16 federated states. Those delegates are elected by the state parliaments for this purpose only.
The Reichsrat of the Weimar Republic was the de facto upper house of Germany's parliament; the lower house was the popularly elected Reichstag. The Reichsrat's members were appointed by the German state governments to represent their interests in the legislation and administration of the nation at the federal level. Its powers were relatively limited, making it considerably weaker than its predecessor, the Bundesrat of the German Empire (1871–1918). It could introduce legislation for the Reichstag to consider and veto laws that it passed, but the vetoes could be overridden. The Reichsrat also played a role in administering and implementing Reich laws.
The Federal Cabinet, or according to the German Basic Law, the Federal Government, is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's organisation, as well as the method of its election and appointment, along with the procedure for its dismissal, are set down in articles 62 through 69 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz).
The Italian Parliament is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitional National Council (1945–1946) and the Constituent Assembly (1946–1948). It is a bicameral legislature with 600 elected members and a small number of unelected members. The Italian Parliament is composed of the Chamber of Deputies, as well as the Senate of the Republic.
The German Emergency Acts were passed on 30 May 1968 at the time of the First Grand Coalition between the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. It was the 17th constitutional amendment to the Basic Law, adding emergency clauses to ensure the federal government's ability to act in crises such as natural disasters, uprisings or war.
The Constitution of the German Empire was the basic law of the German Empire of 1871–1918, from 16 April 1871, coming into effect on 4 May 1871. Some German historians refer to it as Bismarck's imperial constitution, in German the Bismarcksche Reichsverfassung (BRV).
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany, and the commander-in-chief of the German Armed Forces during wartime. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the federal president and without debate.
The Constitutional Convention at Herrenchiemsee was a meeting of constitutional experts nominated by the minister-presidents of the Western States of Germany, held in August 1948 at former Herrenchiemsee Abbey in Bavaria. It was part of the process of drafting and adopting the current German constitution, the Basic Law (Grundgesetz). The draft document prepared by the Herrenchiemsee convention served as a starting point for the deliberations of the Parlamentarischer Rat in Bonn during 1948 and 1949.
Federalism in Germany is made of the states of Germany and the federal government. The central government, the states, and the German municipalities have different tasks and partially competing regions of responsibilities ruled by a complex system of checks and balances.
The Federal Constitutional Court is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law of Germany. Since its inception with the beginning of the post-World War II republic, the court has been located in the city of Karlsruhe, which is also the seat of the Federal Court of Justice.
The Joint Committee is, together with the Federal Convention, one of two non–steady constitutional bodies in the political and federal institutional system of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is designed as an emergency parliament in the case of a State of Defence. It consists of 48 members of which two thirds are members of the Bundestag and one third are members of the Bundesrat, the latter representing the governments of the states of Germany (Länder). It was established in 1968 by an amendment of the Basic Law. Ever since then, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat have elected members to serve on the committee. However, since a state of defence has never been declared, the Joint Committee has never convened as of 2024.
The Bundesrat was the highest legislative body in the German Empire (1871–1918). Its members were appointed by the governments of Germany's constituent states to represent their interests in the German parliament. The popularly elected Reichstag was the lower house. The Constitution of the German Empire required that both the Bundesrat and the Reichstag approve laws before they came into force. The Bundesrat was responsible for the enactment of the laws, administrative regulations and the judicial resolution of disputes between constituent states. Its approval was required for declarations of war and, with certain limitations, the conclusion of state treaties.
The German constitutional reforms of October 1918 consisted of several constitutional and legislative changes that transformed the German Empire into a parliamentary monarchy for a brief period at the end of the First World War. The reforms, which took effect on 28 October 1918, made the office of chancellor dependent on the confidence of the Reichstag rather than that of the German emperor and required the consent of both the Reichstag and the Bundesrat for declarations of war and for peace agreements.
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