Federalism in Germany

Federalism in Germany is made of the states of Germany and the federal government. Unlike in many other federations, in Germany the central government is very strong.

History

German federalism dates back to the founding of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages, to the reforms that came with the Peace of Westphalia and to the constitution of the German Empire from 1871. Since re-unification in 1990, the Federal Republic has consisted of sixteen states: the ten states of the former West Germany, the five new states of the former East Germany, and Berlin.

Division of powers

The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany divides authority between the federal government and the states (German: "Länder" or "Laender"), with the general principle governing relations articulated in Article 30: "The exercise of governmental powers and the discharge of governmental functions shall be incumbent on the Länder insofar as this Basic Law does not otherwise prescribe or permit." Thus, the federal government can exercise authority only in those areas specified in the Basic Law. The Basic Law divides the federal government's legislative responsibilities into exclusive powers (Articles 71 and 73), concurrent powers (Articles 72, 74, and 74a), and framework powers (Article 75). The exclusive legislative jurisdiction of the federal government extends to defense, foreign affairs, immigration, transportation, communications, and currency standards. The federal and state governments share concurrent powers in several areas, including civil law, refugee and expellee matters, public welfare, land management, consumer protection, public health, and the collection of vital statistics. In the areas of mass media, nature conservation, regional planning, and public service regulations, framework legislation limits the federal government's role to offering general policy guidelines, which the states then act upon by means of detailed legislation. The areas of shared responsibility for the states and the federal government were enlarged by an amendment to the Basic Law in 1969 (Articles 91a and 91b), which calls for joint action in areas of broad social concern such as higher education, regional economic development, and agricultural reform.

Unlike in other federations, the German states retain the right to act on their own behalf at the international level. They retain the status of subjects of international law, independently from their status as members of a federation. This unique status is enshrined in Articles 24 and 32 of the Basic Law.

The states are represented at the federal level through the Bundesrat, which is the upper house of the German parliament.

See also

• States of Germany
• Politics of Germany