MARCH 24th, 2015

ISSUE 1

VOL 1

Government System of Germany

BACKGROUND:
The German government has a
bicameral parliament. There is an
upper house that consists of 69 seats
and a lower house of parliament that
consists of 598 deputies that are
elected for four years by the public.
The president of Germany is elected
for a five-year term by a federal
convention. Although the president is
the head of the state, they have little
influence on the government.
Germany also has a chancellor, elected
by the lower house of parliament, who
is the head of the government.
Germany consists of sixteen states
that have their own constitution and
legislature.

PRESIDENT:
The president is the head of the state
but has little to no actual power over
the government. During a federal
convention, the president is elected to
a five-year term. The convention
meets specifically for the election and
consists of the Bundestag and an
equal amount of elected members by
the state parliaments. Below is a
picture of the president of Germany,
Joachim Gauck.

BICAMERAL PARLIAMENT:

The Bundesrat, otherwise known as

the Federal Council and the upper
house, consists of 69 seats. Each state
has three to six representatives
determined by the states population.
The Bundestag, otherwise known as
the Federal Assembly or the lower
house of parliament, consists of 598
deputies. They are elected for four
years using direct voting and
proportional representations. If a party
wins more seats through direct voting
than they would have through
proportional representation more seats
are added.

THE COURTS OF GERMANY:

CHANCELLOR:
The chancellor is elected by a majority
vote in the Bundestag for a four-year
term. The first woman chancellor was
elected in 2005 and the chancellor
cannot be removed from office without
someone to succeed him or her. The
current chancellor is Angela Merkel.
She is also Forbes Magazines most
powerful woman in the world.

There are three different types of

courts in Germany.
Ordinary Court deals with common
cases such as criminal and civil cases.
Specialized Court hears challenges to
laws regarding fiscal, patent laws,
social, or labor.
Constitutional Court specializes is the
highest court and specializes in judicial
review.