Article 70 [Legislation of the Federation and the States]
(1) The States have the right to legislate insofar as this
Constitution does not confer legislative power on the
Federation.
(2) The division of competence between the Federation and the
States are determined by the provisions of this Constitution
concerning exclusive and concurrent legislative powers.
Article 71 [Exclusive legislative power of the Federation]
In matters within the exclusive legislative power of the
Federation, the States have power to legislate only where and to
the extent that they are given such explicit authorization by a
federal statute.
Article 72 [Concurrent legislative power of the Federation]
(1) In the field of concurrent legislative power, the States have
power to legislate as long as and to the extent that the
Federation does not exercise its right to legislate by statute.
(2) In this field, the Federation has legislation if and insofar as
the establishment of equal living conditions in the federal
territory or the preservation of legal and economic unity
necessitates, in the interest of the state at large, a federal
regulation.
(3) A federal statute can stipulate that a federal regulation for
which the conditions of Paragraph (2) no longer hold true is
replaced by law of the States.
Article 73 [Exclusive legislative power]
The Federation has exclusive power to legislate in the following
matters:
1. foreign affairs and defence, including the protection of the
civilian population;
2. citizenship in the Federation;
3. freedom of movement, passport matters, immigration,
emigration and extradition;
4. currency, money and coinage, weights and measures, as well
as the determination of standards of time;
5. the unity of the customs and trading area, treaties on
commerce and on navigation, the freedom of movement of
goods, and the exchange of goods and payments with foreign
countries, including customs and other frontier protection;
6. air transport;
6a. the traffic of railroads owned completely or mainly by the
Federation (railroads of the Federation), the construction,
maintenance, and operation of railway tracks and railroads of
the Federation as well as the charging for the use of these
railways;
7. postal affairs and telecommunication;
8. the legal status of persons employed by the Federation and
by federal corporate bodies under public law;
9. industrial property rights, copyrights and publishing
law;
10. cooperation between the Federation and the States
concerning
a) criminal police,
b) protection of the free democratic basic order, of the
existence and the security of the Federation or of a
State (protection of the constitution) and
c) protection against activities in the federal territory which,
through the use of force or actions in preparation for the use of
force, endanger the foreign interests of the Federal Republic of
Germany, as well as the establishment of a Federal Criminal
Police Office and the international control of crime;
11. statistics for federal purposes.
Article 74 [Concurrent legislation]
(1) Concurrent legislative powers cover the following
matters:
1. civil law, criminal law and execution of sentences, the
organization and procedure of courts, the legal profession,
notaries and legal advice;
2. registration of births, deaths and marriages;
3. the law of association and assembly;
4. the law relating to residence and settlement of aliens;
4a. the law relating to weapons and explosives;
5. {...}
6. refugee and expellee matters;
7. public welfare;
8. {...}
9. war damage and reparations;
10. benefits to war-disabled persons and to dependents of those
killed in the war as well as assistance to former prisoners of
war;
10a. war graves of soldiers, graves of other victims of war and
of victims of despotism;
11. the law relating to economic matters (mining, industry,
supply of power, crafts, trades, commerce, banking, stock
exchanges and private insurance);
11a. the production and utilization of nuclear energy for
peaceful purposes, the construction and operation of
installations serving such purposes, protection against hazards
arising from the release of nuclear energy or from ionizing
radiation, and the disposal of radioactive substances;
12. Labor law, including the legal organization of enterprises,
protection of workers, employment exchanges and agencies, as
well as social insurance, including unemployment
insurance;
13. the regulation of educational and training grants and the
promotion of scientific research;
14. the law regarding expropriation, to the extent that matters
enumerated in Articles 73 and 74 are
concerned;
15. transfer of land, natural resources and means of production
to public ownership or other forms of collective enterprise for
the public benefit:
16. prevention of the abuse of economic power;
17. promotion of agricultural production and forestry, securing
the supply of food, the importation and exportation of
agricultural and forestry products, deep-sea and coastal fishing,
and preservation of the coasts:
18. real estate transactions, land law (excluding the law of
charges for development) and matters concerning agricultural
leases, as well as housing, settlement and homestead
matters;
19. measures against human and animal diseases that are
communicable or otherwise endanger public health, admission
to the medical profession and to other medical occupations or
practices, as well as trade in medicines, curatives, narcotics and
poisons;
19a. the economic viability of hospitals and the regulation of
hospitalization fees;
20. protection regarding the marketing of food, drink and
tobacco, of necessities of life, fodder, agricultural and forest
seeds and seedlings, and protection of plants against diseases
and pests, as well as the protection of animals;
21. ocean and coastal shipping, as well as sea marks, inland
navigation, meteorological services, sea routes, and inland
waterways used for general traffic;
22. road traffic, motor transport, construction and maintenance
of long-distance highways, as well as the collection of charges
for the use of public highways by vehicles and the allocation of
revenue therefrom:
23. railroads which are not railroads of the Federation, except
mountain railroads;
24. {...};
25. state liability;
26. artificial insemination of humans, research on manipulations
of genes, and regulations for transplantation of organs and
living matter.
(2) The consent of the Senate is necessary for statutes according
to Paragraph (1) number 25.
Article 74a [Concurrent legislative power of the Federation]
(1) Concurrent legislative power further extend to the
remuneration and pensions of members of the public service
whose service and loyalty are governed by public law, insofar
as the Federation does not have exclusive power to legislate
pursuant to Article 73 Number 8.
(2) Federal statutes enacted pursuant to Paragraph (1) require
the consent of the Senate.
(3) Federal statutes enacted pursuant to Article 73 Number
8 likewise require the consent of the Senate, insofar as for
the structure and assessment of remuneration and pensions,
including the rating of posts, provision is made for criteria or
minimum or maximum rates other than those provided for in
federal statutes enacted pursuant to Paragraph (1).
(4) Paragraphs (1) and (2) apply mutatis mutandis to the
remuneration and pensions of judges in the States.
Paragraph (3) applies mutatis mutandis to statutes enacted
pursuant to Article 98 (1).
Article 75 [Power to pass framework legislation]
(1) Subject to the conditions laid down in Article 72, the
Federation has the right to enact framework legislation for the
legislation of the States concerning:
1. the legal status of persons in the public service of the States,
communes or other corporate bodies under public law, insofar
as Article 74a does not provide otherwise;
1a. the general principles governing higher education;
2. the general legal status of the press;
3. hunting, nature conservation and landscape
management;
4. State distribution, regional planning and the management of
water resources;
5. matters relating to the registration of residence or domicile
and to identity cards;
6. protection against transfer of items of German culture to
foreign countries.
Article 72 (3) applies mutatis mutandis.
(2) Framework legislation may contain detailed or directly
applicable provisions only in exceptional cases.
(3) If the Federation adopts framework legislation, the States
are bound to adopt the necessary State statutes within an
adequate time frame stipulated by the legislation.
Article 76 [Bills]
(1) Bills are introduced in the House of Representatives by the
Government or by members of the House of Representatives or
by the Senate.
(2) Bills of the Government first have to be submitted to the
Senate. The Senate is entitled to state its position on such bills
within six weeks. If, for important reasons and particularly
with regard to the volume of the bill, the Senate asks for
deferral, the period is nine weeks. A bill which, on submission
to the Senate, is exceptionally specified by the Government to
be particularly urgent may be submitted by the latter to the
House of Representatives three weeks later, or, if the Senate
asked for deferral according to sentence 3, six weeks later,
even though the Government may not yet have received the
statement of the Senate's position; upon receipt, such statement
has to be transmitted to the House of Representatives by the
Government without delay. The time limit for statements to
bills changing this Constitution or delegating sovereign powers
according to Article 23 or 24 is nine weeks;
sentence 4 is not applied.
(3) Bills of the Senate have to be submitted to the House of
Representatives by the Government within six weeks. In doing
so, the Government states its own view. If, for important
reasons and particularly with regard to the volume of the bill,
the Government asks for deferral, the period is nine weeks.
The time limit for a bill which is exceptionally specified by the
Senate to be particularly urgent is three weeks or, if the
Government asked for deferral according to sentence 3, six
weeks. The time limit for statements to bills changing this
Constitution or delegating sovereign powers according to
Article 23 or 24 is nine weeks; sentence 4 is not
applied. The House of Representatives has to debate about bills
within adequate time and reach a decision.
Article 77 [Legislative procedure]
(1) Federal statutes are enacted by the House of
Representatives. Upon their adoption they have to be
transmitted, without delay, to the Senate by the President of the
House of Representatives.
(2) The Senate may, within three weeks of the receipt of the
adopted bill, demand that a committee for joint consideration of
bills, composed of members of the House of Representatives
and members of the Senate, be convened. The composition and
the procedure of this committee is regulated by rules of
procedure to be adopted by the House of Representatives and
requiring the consent of the Senate. The members of the Senate
on this committee are not bound by instructions. Where the
consent of the Senate is required for a bill to become a statute,
the House of Representatives and the Government may also
demand that the committee be convened. Should the committee
propose any amendment to the adopted bill, the House of
Representatives again votes on the bill.
(2a) Insofar as a statute requires the consent of the Senate, the
Senate, if no demand according to Paragraph (2) 1 was issued
or if the committee for joint consideration has concluded its
procedures without suggesting changes, has to debate about its
consent within adequate time and reach a decision.
(3) Insofar as the consent of the Senate is not required for a bill
to become a statute, the Senate may, when the proceedings
under Paragraph (2) are completed, enter an objection within
two weeks against a bill adopted by the House of
Representatives. The period for entering an objection begins,
in the case of the last sentence of Paragraph (2), on the receipt
of the bill as readopted by the House of Representatives, and in
all other cases on the receipt of a communication from the
chairman of the committee provided for in Paragraph (2) to the
effect that the committee's proceedings have been concluded.
(4) Where the objection was adopted with the majority of the
votes of the Senate, it can be rejected by a decision of the
majority of the members of the House of Representatives.
Where the Senate adopted the objection with a majority of at
least two thirds of its votes, its rejection by the House of
Representatives requires a majority of two thirds, including at
least the majority of the members of the House of
Representatives.
Article 78 [Passage of federal statutes]
A bill adopted by the House of Representatives becomes a
statute where the Senate consents to it, or fails to make a
demand pursuant to Article 77 (2), or fails to enter an
objection within the period stipulated in Article 77 (3), or
withdraws such objection, or where the objection is overridden
by the House of Representatives.
Article 79 [Amendment of the Constitution]
(1) This Constitution can be amended only by statutes which
expressly amend or supplement the text thereof. In respect of
international treaties, the subject of which is a peace settlement,
the preparation of a peace settlement or the phasing out of an
occupation regime, or which are intended to serve the defence
of the Federal Republic, it is sufficient, for the purpose of
clarifying that the provisions of this Constitution do not
preclude the conclusion and entry into force of such treaties, to
effect a supplementation of the text of this Constitution confined
to such clarification.
(2) Any such statute requires the consent of two thirds of the
members of the House of Representatives and two thirds of the
votes of the Senate.
(3) Amendments of this Constitution affecting the division of
the Federation into States, the participation on principle of the
States in legislation, or the basic principles laid down in
Articles 1 and 20 are inadmissible.
Article 80 [Issue of ordinances]
(1) The Government, a Minister or the State governments may
be authorized by statute to issue ordinances. The content,
purpose, and scope of the authorization so conferred must be
laid down in the statute concerned. This legal basis has to be
stated in the ordinance. Where a statute provides that such
authorization may be delegated, such delegation requires
another ordinance.
(2) The consent of the Senate is required, unless otherwise
provided by federal legislation, for ordinances of the
Government or a Minister concerning basic rules or charges for
the use of facilities of postal affairs and telecommunication,
concerning the basic rules for charges and use of facilities of
railroads of the Federation, or concerning the construction and
operation of railroads, as well as for ordinances issued pursuant
to federal statutes that require the consent of the Senate or that
are executed by the States as agents of the Federation or as
matters of their own concern.
(3) The Senate can submit such bills for ordinances to the
Government that require its consent.
(4) Insofar as, by or on the basis of federal statutes,
Governments of the States are empowered to adopt ordinances,
the States are also allowed to regulate the matter by statute.
Article 80a [Application of legal provisions in a state of
tension]
(1) Where this Constitution or a federal statute on defence,
including the protection of the civilian population, stipulates that
legal provisions may only be applied in accordance with this
Article, their application is, except in a state of defence,
admissible only after the House of Representatives has
determined that a state of tension exists or where it has
specifically approved such application. In respect of the cases
mentioned in Article 12a (5) 1 & (6) 2, such
determination of a state of tension and such specific approval
requires a two-thirds majority of the votes cast.
(2) Any measures taken by virtue of legal provisions enacted
under Paragraph (1) have to be revoked whenever the House of
Representatives so demands.
(3) In derogation of Paragraph (1), the application of such legal
provisions is also admissible by virtue of and in accordance
with a decision taken with the consent of the Government by an
international body within the framework of a treaty of alliance.
Any measures taken pursuant to this paragraph have to be
revoked whenever the House of Representatives so demands
with the majority of its members.
Article 81 [State of legislative emergency]
(1) Should, in the circumstances of Article 68, the House
of Representatives not be dissolved, the President may, at the
request of the Government and with the consent of the Senate,
declare a state of legislative emergency with respect to a bill,
where the House of Representatives rejects the bill although the
Government has declared it to be urgent. The same applies
where a bill has been rejected although the Chancellor had
combined with it the motion under Article 68.
(2) Where, after a state of legislative emergency has been
declared, the House of Representatives again rejects the bill or
adopts it in a version stated to be unacceptable to the
Government, the bill is deemed to have become a statute to the
extent that the Senate consents to it. The same applies where
the bill is not passed by the House of Representatives within
four weeks of it.s reintroduction
(3) During the term of office of a Chancellor, any other bill
rejected by the House of Representatives may become a statute
in accordance with Paragraphs (1) and (2) within a period of six
months after the first declaration of a state of legislative
emergency. After the expiration of this period, a further
declaration of a state of legislative emergency is inadmissible
during the term of office of the same Chancellor.
(4) This Constitution may not be amended nor repealed nor
suspended in whole or in part by a statute enacted pursuant to
Paragraph (2).
Article 82 [Promulgation and effective date of legal provisions]
(1) Statutes enacted in accordance with the provisions of this
Constitution are, after countersignature, signed by the President
and promulgated in the Federal Law Gazette. Ordinances are
signed by the agency which issues them and, unless otherwise
provided by statute, are promulgated in the Federal Law
Gazette.
(2) Every statute or every ordinance should specify its effective
date. In the absence of such a provision, it takes effect on the
fourteenth day after the end of the day on which the Federal
Law Gazette containing it was published.