GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL SYSTEM IN THE UK

The UK is a constitutional monarchy, similar to countries such as Spain, the

Netherlands, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates. This means that a monarch – in this
case, Queen Elizabeth II – acts as Head of State. It is a parliamentary democracy where
the elected British Government, the head of which is the Prime Minister, holds executive
power.

Two chambers exercise legislative power: the lower chamber – the House of
Commons – made up of 650 elected regional Members of Parliament (MP); and the upper
chamber – the House of Lords – made up of a mixture of appointed and hereditary peers.
Unlike with elected MPs, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed.
Currently, there are around 800 members from across the parties, as well as non-
affiliated members.

Although the British government has centralized power, a certain amount of

political power has been devolved to the regional governments in Scotland, Wales, and
Northern Ireland. Both Scotland and Wales established their devolved parliaments in
1999. Northern Ireland has had its devolved assembly since 1972. The UK runs a first-
past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system with elections every five years. It ranks 16th in
the 2020 Democracy Index.

The British Prime Minister: who is currently in power in the UK?

The leader of the Conservative party, Boris

Johnson, is Prime Minister of the UK. Johnson has
held this position since July 2019 when he won the
party leadership contest after the previous Prime
Minister, Theresa May, resigned. The Conservatives
then won a General Election in December 2019,
winning 365 parliamentary seats (and 43.6% of the
vote). The Labour Party, then led by Jeremy Corbyn,
won 202 seats and 32.1% of the vote. This was the
biggest election victory since Tony Blair’s Labour
Party win in 2001 and the biggest Conservative win
since Margaret Thatcher triumphed in 1987.

Boris Johnson has been MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015. He was
previously Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. Although the UK Prime Minister is the
head of central government, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own heads
of government called First Ministers. These are leaders or representatives of the parties
with the most seats in government. Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National
Party, has been First Minister of Scotland since 2014. Mark Drakeford, leader of Welsh
Labour, has been First Minister of Wales since 2018.

Northern Ireland has joint heads of government under the terms of the Good Friday
Agreement. Paul Givan of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has been First Minister
since June 2021. Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Fein has been Deputy First Minister since 2020.

The next UK General Election is due to take place on 2 May 2024. Current opinion polls
put the Conservatives ahead with 43% support, with Labour on 33% (June 2021).

MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UK

There are currently 11 political parties with seats in the House of Commons. Below is a
brief overview of each one.

• Conservative Party
Also known as the Tory Party, the Conservative Party was founded in 1834. It has
been one of the dominant forces in British politics since the 19th century. The party
has been in power since 2010 and currently holds 363 parliamentary seats in
Westminster.

The party has historically been similar in ideology to conservative parties in many
other countries. Since the late 1970s, it has favored small government and
liberal free-market economic policies. Traditionally socially conservative, in
recent years it has become more socially liberal in certain areas such as LGBT
rights, legalizing same-sex marriage in 2014. There are some tensions within the
party between socially liberal and socially conservative elements. Additionally,
there are ongoing divisions over Europe and Brexit.

The party primarily holds support among middle-class voters, especially in rural
and suburban areas. However, its 2019 election victory was notable for its
success among traditionally Labour-supporting working-class voters in northern
England.

The current leader of the Conservative party is the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

• Labour Party
The Labour Party is the current Official Opposition party in the UK with 198 seats
in parliament. It has had five periods in power since 1923, the most recent being
1997-2010. The party was founded in 1900 out of a coalition between trade
unionists and socialists.
 Until the 1980s, Labour’s ideology was along traditional democratic socialist lines.
Its periods in power were characterized by Keynesian economics, high taxation,
and a strong publicly-owned welfare state. Since the mid-1980s it has become
more centrist, culminating in the rebranding of the party as New Labour and the
embracing of Third Way politics in the 1990s. Under Jeremy Corbyn, the party
returned to a more traditional socialist approach between 2015 and 2020.
However, this led to deep divisions within the party. Keir Starmer, leader since
April 2020, has attempted to shift the party back towards the center ground.

Labour has traditionally been more socially progressive in areas such as worker
rights, LGBT rights, gender equality, and immigration policies. It has also been
mostly pro-Europe, with the majority of its MPs voting against Brexit. Traditionally
it has held support among working-class and socially liberal voters, although its
working-class base has diminished recently. The party’s performance in the 2019
election was its worst since 1935.

• Scottish National Party (SNP)

The SNP is a Scottish political party that campaigns on a platform of Scottish
independence. Although the SNP lost the 2014 Scottish Referendum on
independence, it is the party with the most support in Scotland. It holds 45 of the
59 parliamentary seats. This makes it the third biggest party in the UK in terms of
parliamentary seats.

The SNP was founded in 1934. It is socially democratic in its ideological outlook
as well as being socially liberal, supporting policies such as LGBT rights,
multiculturalism, and gender equality. The party is also pro-Europe and
campaigned against Brexit. In the 2016 Scottish parliamentary elections, the SNP
won 69 out of 129 seats, two short of a majority.

The current party leader is the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon.

• Liberal Democrat Party

Commonly referred to as the Lib Dems, the Liberal Democrats were founded in
1988 out of a merger between the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party
– two parties that had been in an alliance since 1981.

The party’s ideology is a mix of traditional liberalism and social democracy. It

favors a market-based economy, supported by a strong welfare state. It also
supports civil liberties, LGBT rights, European integration, and a shift to
proportional representation voting.

Although the Liberals were a strong force in UK politics in the 19th and early 20th
centuries, and the party formed a coalition government with the Conservatives
between 2010 and 2015, the popularity of the Lib Dems has waned dramatically
 since. They currently have 12 MPs, down from 62 in 2005. Their support tends to
be among university-educated voters in southwest England and parts of London
and Scotland. Ed Davey has been the party’s leader since August 2020.

• Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

The DUP is an Irish political party that is the biggest party in the Northern Ireland
Assembly in terms of seats (27 out of 90). It shares assembly leadership with
Sinn Fein. Founded in 1971, the party is unionist, loyalist, and socially conservative,
opposing things such as abortion and same-sex marriage. It also supports Brexit.

The DUP formed a coalition government with Theresa May’s Conservatives from
2017 to 2019. It currently holds 8 out of 18 available seats in Westminster.

• Sinn Fein
Sinn Fein (meaning “We Ourselves” in Irish) is an Irish political party founded in
1905 when the whole of Ireland was under British rule. It is active in both Northern
Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with the current form of the party in operation
since 1970.

Whereas the DUP is loyalist, Sinn Fein is Irish Republican and supports the
reunification of an independent Irish state. It is also broadly democratic socialist,
socially progressive, and supported the UK remaining part of the EU. It holds 7
seats in the UK parliament and 26 seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Mary
Lou McDonald is the current President of the party.

• Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru, also known as the Party of Wales, is a Welsh nationalist, social
democratic, and pro-European party that advocates a Welsh independent state.
Formed in 1925, it currently holds 3 out of 40 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament
as well as 13 out of 60 seats in the Welsh Assembly (the Senedd). Adam Price has
been the party leader since 2018.

• Alba Party
The Alba Party is a Scottish nationalist party founded in February 2021 and led by
former SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond. It has yet to
contest any elections but has two seats in Westminster on account of two SNP
MPs defecting to the party. The party positions itself as an alternative Scottish
independence party with the objective of building a “socially just and
environmentally responsible” Scotland. The Alba Party is in favor of an
independent Scotland joining the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

• Social Democratic & Labour Party (SDLP)

The SDLP is an Irish Republican party in Northern Ireland advocating Irish
nationalism, social democracy, and pro-European politics. It was founded in 1970
 and currently holds two seats in Westminster and 12 seats in the Northern Ireland
Assembly. The party leader is Colum Eastwood.

• Alliance Party
The Alliance Party is a liberal party in Northern Ireland affiliated with the Liberal
Democrats in Great Britain. It was founded in 1970 and currently has one MP in
the UK parliament and 7 MPs in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Its leader is
Naomi Long.

• Green Party
The Green Party is a political party in England and Wales. Similar to green political
movements elsewhere, the party is associated with environmentalism and
sustainability. In the UK, the party also supports social-democratic economic
policies, civil liberties, animal rights, grassroots democratic participation, and EU
membership. The Green Party supports more radical progressive policies than
most other mainstream parties, such as a universal basic income for all.

The Green Party was founded in 1990. It has joint leaders, Sian Berry and Jonathan
Bartley, and one MP in Westminster, former leader Caroline Lucas. Its support is
strongest among university-educated people in metropolitan areas.

ELECTORAL SYSTEM IN THE UK

• The UK uses different electoral systems for different types of elections. For
general elections, where MPs representing 650 regional constituencies across
the UK are elected to the House of Commons, the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP)
system is used. Each party can put one candidate forward in each constituency
(independents can also stand).

• The party with the most winning candidates forms a majority government if they
win over 50% of the seats, otherwise, they can form a coalition government with
other parties to take them over 50% or form a minority government. The leader
of the winning party becomes Prime Minister and appoints a Cabinet of Ministers
to head the different government departments (health, education, defense, etc.).
There are currently 23 ministerial departments and 20 non-ministerial
departments.

• General elections in the UK take place every five years, although the British
government can call an early election if they get a two-thirds majority vote on
doing so in the House of Commons.

• In addition to UK general elections, there are: Scottish and Welsh parliamentary

elections, held every 5 years, where voters choose MPs using the Additional
Member System (AMS) form of proportional representation. Northern Ireland
 Assembly elections, held every 5 years, where voters elect assembly members
using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) form of proportional representation.
Local elections, held every 4 years, where voters elect local councillors. England
and Wales use the FPTP system, while Scotland and Northern Ireland use STV.
Mayoral elections, held in London and some parts of England, where voters elect
a local mayor using the Supplementary Vote system.

VOTING IN THE UK
The legal voting age in the UK is 18, apart from in Scottish and Welsh parliamentary
elections where it is 16. For the UK general election, you must also be a British, Irish, or
Commonwealth citizen and have a registered UK address (or be a British citizen living
abroad who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years).

Other UK residents, such as EU citizens or foreigners with a right to reside in the UK,
can vote in local elections and Scottish elections. Prisoners and anyone found guilty of
electoral fraud in the last five years cannot vote.

POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN THE UK

• To stand as a candidate in a UK general election, you must be at least 18 years old
and a citizen of either the UK, Ireland, or a Commonwealth country that has a right
to reside in the UK. Certain groups are disqualified from standing, including
members of the police or armed forces, civil servants, and people with
bankruptcy restrictions.

• EU citizens cannot become MPs unless they also have UK citizenship, however,
they can stand to become a local councilor in local elections.

• According to a 2020 report on political and public representation in the UK,

residents from ethnic minorities are slightly underrepresented in parliament,
although things are improving. The report found that 10% of MPs and 6.3% of
members of the House of Lords are from minority backgrounds, compared to
14.4% in the overall UK population. The situation is similar in the constituent
parliaments and assemblies, as well as in the London Assembly.

• Another report from March 2021 found that women are also still
underrepresented. Thirty-four percent of MPs and 28% of Lords are female.
Elsewhere, the situation ranges from 47% female members in the Welsh
Parliament to 26% in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Concerning senior-level
positions, only 23% of cabinet ministers are women.
POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE UK

The Parliament of Great Britain formed in 1707 following the Acts of the Union,
which brought together the three countries of Great Britain – England, Scotland, and
Wales. Following the British colonization of Ireland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland formed in 1801. Britain ceded control of Southern Ireland (the Republic of
Ireland) in 1922, and the UK became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland which remains its full title today.

Since its creation, the UK has had a functioning democracy. Only two parties
formed governments until 1923 – the Conservatives and the Liberals (who were the
Whigs until the mid-19th century). Since 1923, only the Conservatives and Labour have
been in power. Universal suffrage was in 1918 for men and 1928 for women.

Other than devolution in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, the key events
that have impacted the UK’s political system since World War Two have been:

The development of the modern welfare state, including the NHS, in the years
immediately following 1945. This gave the government a far greater role in areas such
as healthcare, education and social security.

Decolonization and the decline of the British Empire after 1945. The UK had
established colonial rule in many overseas countries during the 18th, 19th and early 20th
centuries. By the 1970s, most of these countries had won independence. Over 50 of these
countries are today members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Joining the European Communities (now the EU) in 1973 and then subsequently
voting to leave in the 2016 Brexit Referendum vote.

JUDICIARY SYSTEM IN THE UK

The UK has three separate legal systems: one for England and Wales, one for
Scotland, and one for Northern Ireland. However, judges in some of the highest level
courts such as the Supreme Court have UK-wide jurisdiction.

Similar to many other countries, the UK justice system is one of three branches
of the state. The other two are the executive (the British government) and the legislative
(the two Parliamentary chambers). Where the UK differs from most other countries is
that it doesn’t have a written constitution. Therefore, its laws have grown out of centuries
of statutes passed by Parliament and the common law of court decisions.
 Until the end of the 19th century, there wasn’t a clear separation between the
judicial branch and other state branches in the UK. In other words, judges could become
MPs or even Cabinet members.

The courts system in the UK is complex but essentially there are three main types of
court:
• Magistrates’ courts, which deal with most civil cases and less serious cases
• Senior Courts, which include the Crown Court, the High Court and the Court of
Appeal. These deal with more serious criminal cases, any cases referred by
magistrates’ courts, and (in the case of the Court of Appeal) appeals from other
courts
• Supreme Court, which is the final court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases

The tribunals system has its own structure for dealing with administrative cases and
appeals. Decisions can escalate to the Court of Appeal.

Table 1. Political system and structure of Germany in brief

Political system

Political regime Democracy

Form of government Parliamentary Republic

Form of state structure Federation

State description Rule of law and social welfare state

German economic system Socially oriented market economy

Basic Law German Constitution

Federal and regional (the one of the federated

Tiers of authority
state)

CDU, CSU, SPD, AfD, FDP, Die Linke (the Left-

Major political parties
Wing Party), Die Grünen (the Greens)

Federal level

Head of state Federal President

The Bundestag (the Federal Parliament) and

Main legislative bodies
the Bundesrat (the Federal Council)

The Bundestag composition Deputies or the Bundestag members

Members of the government of each federated

The Bundesrat composition
state
Main executive body Federal Government

The Government composition Federal Chancellor and Ministers

Head of the government Federal Chancellor

Major Judiciary Сonstitutional Сourt and other federal courts

Federated states level

Form of government Parliamentary Republic

Basic Laws Constitutions of the federated states

Main legislative bodies Landtags or the federated states parliaments

Main executive bodies Federated states governments

Regional (federated states) courts of first

Major Judiciary
instance

FEDERAL AND FEDERATED STATES AUTHORITIES IN GERMANY

In Germany, there is a two-tier system of state power with individual authorities

at each level respectively: federal and regional (the one of a federated state or a land).
The structure of the government in Germany is determined by the Constitution or the
Basic Law of the country; in particular, at the federal level, 5 government bodies and 2
ad hoc committees temporarily created for a specific purpose are referred to as
standing government bodies. All these bodies of authority are characterized further on
the page.
 BUNDESTAG, THE GERMAN FEDERAL PARLIAMENT

Bundestag Plenary Hall in Reichstag, Berlin

The Bundestag (in German: Bundestag) or the Federal Parliament is the

legislative body of Germany, it consists of approximately 600-700 members elected by
the citizens of the country for a term of 4 years. The Bundestag members are
representatives of the people and freely decide when considering and passing laws. The
Bundestag members having similar political goals and interests form parliamentary
factions, groups or alliances. There are also standing committees, in the Bundestag that
perform certain tasks, as well as committees of the Federal Ministries; each committee
is headed by a committee chairperson. The Bundestag holds meetings to discuss and
adopt new laws, which are passed by a majority vote. The Bundestag members elect the
Bundestag President (in German: Präsident) and his/her Deputies. Discussions in the
Bundestag are publicly available, everyone can watch them on TV, on the Internet or
from the viewing stand in the building where the meetings are held. After the adoption
of a new law or amendments to the law, the bill has to go through the Bundesrat, and
also be signed by the Federal Chancellor, one of the Ministers and the President of
Germany.

Name in German Bundestag

Type of power Legislature

Composition The President of the Bundestag, his/her Deputies,

and approximately 700 Bundestag members
representing the people
Scope and objectives • Discussion and adoption of draft laws and
amendments to laws,
• Electing the Federal Chancellor,
• Electing the the country's President
(together with the Bundesrat),
• Monitoring the work of the Federal
Government,
• Discussion and adoption of the state
budget proposed by the Government for
the next year and subsequent monitoring
of its implementation.

Seat The Reichstag (Reichstag), Berlin

Website bundestag.de

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY

• The Federal Government of Germany (in German: Bundesregierung) - consists of

the Federal Chancellor, the head of the Government and Ministers. Each Federal
Minister is the head of a Ministry of the country. The Federal Ministers are
appointed by the President of the country on the proposal of the Federal
Chancellor; the Ministers handle their matters independently within the
framework of the Federal Chancellor's main policies. There are 14 Federal
Ministries in the country.

• The Federal Chancellor of Germany (in German: Bundeskanzler) is the country's

most important political capacity; the Federal Chancellor determines the
country's main policies and shall bear responsibility for them. The Federal
Chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the President of
Germany.

Name in German Bundesregierung, Bundeskabinett

Type of power Executive branch

Composition Federal Chancellor (head of the Government) and

Ministers (who are heads of Federal Ministries)
 Scope and objectives of the
Federal Chancellor
• Head of the Government,
• cooperation with the coalition (alliance) of
political parties,
• nominating the Federal Ministers and
his/her own Deputy or Vice Chancellor,
• defining the focal points of the policy, scope
and objectives of the Federal Government
(guideline setting competence),
• leadership of the armed forces, when the
occasion requires to defend the nation,
• filing a motion as to the confidence in him/
her and a motion to dissolve the Bundestag.

Scope and objectives of the • Discussion of various political topics,

Federal Government • taking co-decisions with the Chancellor on
a number of political issues,
• proposal of bills for consideration by the
Bundestag,
• Federal Ministers shall be in charge of a
specific range of tasks in compliance with
the directives of the Chancellor.

Seat The Federal Chancellery building

(Kanzleramtsgebäude), Berlin; Palais
Schaumburg (Palais Schaumburg), Bonn

Website bundesregierung.de

BUNDESRAT OR THE FEDERAL COUNCIL OF GERMANY, REPRESENTATION OF THE

FEDERATED STATES

The Bundesrat (in German: Bundesrat) or the Federal Council is a representation

of the German federated states at the federal level of power, it consists of members of
each federated state government. Thanks to this body, all the country’s federated states
participate in exercising the legislative and executive powers of Germany.
Approximately once a month, plenary sessions (or meetings of all the Council members)
of the Bundesrat are held, and all the German federated states governments
representatives come to these meetings. The Bundesrat shall elect their own Chair or
President (in German: Bundesratspräsident) for a period of 1 year. The Federal
Government shall keep the Bundesrat up to date on the current affairs. The Bundesrat
checks and approves laws passed by the Bundestag; the laws relating to matters within
the competence of the federated states cannot enter into force without the approval on
the part of the Bundesrat. There are 16 committees in the Bundesrat made up of
professionals in a specific field, such as finance, healthcare, defense, etc. These
committees advise the Bundesrat members on the laws being discussed.

Name in German Bundesrat

Type of power Legislature

Composition President of the Bundesrat and 69

representatives of the governments of 16 German
federated states

Scope and objectives • Discussing new laws and amendments to

existing laws,
• verification and approval of laws adopted
by the Bundestag,
• harmonizing the regulations of the Federal
Government,
• participation in matters relating to the
European Union,
• electing half of the judges of the Federal
Constitutional Court,
• legislative acts in cases of public
emergency.

Seat The Bundesrat building (Bundesrats-Gebäude),

Berlin

Website bundesrat.de
FEDERAL PRESIDENT, HEAD OF THE STATE OF GERMANY; THE FEDERAL PRESIDENT'S
OFFICE

The Federal President of Germany (in German: Bundespräsident) is the head of

the state of Germany. In contrast to many other countries, the Federal President is not
the main politician of the country, their activity remains within the framework of
everyday politics, as well as the performance of representative functions, such as
receiving foreign politicians or representing the country abroad. The President of
Germany approves the laws adopted by the Bundestag. The Federal President is elected
by the Federal Assembly for a term of 5 years. His/ her Deputy, if necessary, shall be
the President of the Bundesrat. In carrying out tasks, the President enjoys the support
of their office, known as the Office of the Federal President (in German:
Bundespräsidialamt). The Office provides consultations to the President, informs about
political events, prepares his/ her trips and visits and fulfils various assignments of the
President.

A German citizen over 40 years old can be elected President of Germany. S/he
shall not be engaged in other work or have a different political capacity and actively
participate in the activities of any political party.

Name in German Bundespräsident

Type of power Executive branch

Composition The Federal President; the Office of the Federal

President

Scope and objectives • Represents the state in various situations

within the country, for example: attending
events, greetings, awards, giving
speeches, supporting various
organizations;
• Represents their country abroad, and also
hosts representatives of other countries;
• Nominates a candidate to the Bundestag
for appointment as the Federal Chancellor;
• Appoints Ministers on the proposal of the
Federal Chancellor;
• Appoints Federal Judges and other
officials;
 • Signs all laws passed by the Bundestag
and the Bundesrat;
• Accords permission to the ambassadors
from other countries to stay and work in
Germany.

Seat Bellevue Palace (Schloss Bellevue), Berlin

Hammerschmidt Villa (Villa Hammerschmidt),
Bonn

Website bundespraesident.de

FEDERAL LEVEL: POLITICAL STRUCTURE, AUTHORITIES, ELEMENTS OF THE POLITICAL

SYSTEM

• Federal Assembly of Germany

Federal Assembly (aka the Federal Convention) - a constitutional body for the
election of the President of Germany

The Federal Assembly (in German: Bundesversammlung) is a constitutional body

whose sole task is to elect the Federal President. This Assembly consists of all
the members of the Bundestag and the same number of representatives of all the
federated states of Germany, elected by the Parliaments of each state. The
Federal Assembly meets for the election of the President every 5 years, for which
purpose new members of the Assembly are elected each time.

Name in German Bundesversammlung

Type of power Electoral body
Composition Members of the Bundestag and federated states
representatives
Scope and objectives • Election of the President of Germany
Seat The Reichstag (Reichstag), Berlin
Joint Committee - a parliament created in a state of
emergency
• Joint Committee - a parliament created in a
state of emergency
• The Joint Committee (нем. Gemeinsamer
Ausschuss) - (in German: Gemeinsamer
Ausschuss) is a committee created in case of
emergency when there is a need for a defensive
war. This Committee is vested with the powers
of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat and
ascertains the fact of an attack and the need to pursue a defensive war. The
Joint Committee embraces the members of the Bundestag (by two-thirds) and
those of the Bundesrat (by one third).

Name in German Gemeinsamer Ausschuss

Composition 2/3 of the Committee – the Bundestag members,

1/3 of the Committee – the Bundesrat members

Scope and objectives • Ascertainment of the fact as to the need to

pursue a defensive war

FEDERAL СONSTITUTIONAL СOURT OF GERMANY

• Federal Сonstitutional Сourt of Germany

The Federal Сonstitutional Сourt of Germany (in
German:Bundesve rfassungsgericht) is the
supreme judicial authority in the country. This
Court deals with cases where the consistency of
any German law with the Constitution of the
country is called into question. Other courts of the
country apply to the Сonstitutional Сourt to make
sure that a particular law of the country is
consistent with the Constitution. The Federal
Government and the federated states
governments can also request a compliance audit of a law. The Сonstitutional
Сourt also deals with cases of disputes between authorities regarding their rights
and obligations. Any German citizen can appeal to the Сonstitutional Сourt, should
 s/he consider that their constitutional rights have been violated; the violation may
come from a court, law or any government agency. 16 judges of the Сonstitutional
Сourt are elected by the Bundesrat and the Bundestag for a term of 12 years. The
Сourt is divided into 2 parts, consisting of 2 senates (the senate for constitutional
rights and the senate for disputes between authorities), the first one is chaired
by the President of the Court, while the other is chaired by their Deputy, i.e. the
Vice President.

Name in German Bundesverfassungsgericht

Type of power Judiciary

Composition 16 judges, the President of the Court and their

Vice-President

Scope and objectives • Protecting the fundamental rights of

people in Germany;
• Making final decisions as to court cases;
• Checking the laws of the country for
compliance with the German Constitution.

Seat Karlsruhe Palace (Schloss Karlsruhe) in the City

of Karlsruhe

Website bundesverfassungsgericht.de

GERMAN FEDERATED STATES PARLIAMENTS

The federated state parliament or Landtag (in German: Landesparlament, Landtag) may
also have different names, depending on the federated state. Deputies of the federated
state parliament are elected by the people residing in the territory of this federated state.
The parliament is the legislature; the key tasks of the parliament are legislation, control
over the federated state government, as well as the approval of the local budget.

Name in German Landesparlament, Landtag

Type of power Legislature

 Composition Landtag President, their (his/her) Deputies and
members

Scope and objectives • Discussion and adoption of bills,

amendments to the laws of the federated
state;
• Electing the federated state government
head;
• Control over the federated state
government;
• Approval of the federated state budget.

Seat As a rule, in the capital city of their federated

state

GERMAN FEDERATED STATES GOVERNMENTS

The federated state government (in German: Landesregierung) is the executive

body of a federated state; depending on the state, it may have different names:
Landesregierung, Landeskabinett, Staatsregierung, Ministerrat, Senat. The federated
state government consists of the head of the government (in German: Regierungschefs),
who may also be called differently, depending on the state, for example:
Ministerpräsident, Regierender Bürgermeister, Präsident des Senats, and ministers (in
German: Landesministern, Staatsministern, Senatoren). The head of the federated state
government is elected by the federated state parliament, s/he appoints the ministers of
their government, determines the focal points of the federated state policy and shall be
responsible for it to the federated state parliament.

Name in German Landesregierung

Type of power Executive branch

Composition The head of the government and the cabinet of ministers

Scope and • The head of the government determines the focal point
objectives of the policy, scope and objectives of the government,
• cooperation with a coalition (alliance) of political
parties,
 • discussion and decision-making regarding various
political topics,
• proposal of bills for consideration by the federated
state parliament,
• the Ministers shall be in charge of a specific range of
tasks in compliance with the directives of the
government head.

Seat As a rule, in the capital city of their federated state

СONSTITUTIONAL СOURTS OF THE FEDERATED STATES OF GERMANY

• The Сonstitutional Сourts of the federated states of Germany (in German:

Landesverfassungsgericht) have different names, depending on the federated
state: Verfassungsgericht, Landesverfassungsgericht, Verfassungsgerichtshof.
The Сonstitutional Сourts scope may differ in different federated states. These
Courts resolve mainly constitutional disputes and do not deal with the affairs of
private individuals; they adjudicate disputes between the federated states
authorities regarding their duties and rights, deal with auditing the statutory
compliance of the federated state legislation with the Constitution of the said
state, etc.
Name in German Verfassungsgericht, Landesverfassungsgericht,
Verfassungsgerichtshof

Type of power Judiciary

Composition The President of the Court, their Vice-President

and several judges

Scope and objectives • Settlement of disputes between the

federated state authorities,
• auditing the statutory compliance of the
federated state legislation with the
Constitution of the said state.