Oral hearing in the proceedings concerning the “Increase of the absolute upper limit to public funding allocated to all political parties combined” and the requirements for proper legislative procedure on Tuesday, 12 October 2021, 10:00 a.m., and Wednesday, 13 October 2021, 10:00 a.m.

Press Release No. 75/2021 of 17 August 2021

Reference. 2 BvF 2/18, 2 BvE 5/18

The Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court will conduct an oral hearing on

Tuesday, 12 October 2021, 10:00 a.m., and Wednesday, 13 October 2021, 10:00 a.m.,
at the Messe Karlsruhe, dm-Arena, Messeallee 1, 76287 Rheinstetten

on an application lodged by 216 members of the German Bundestag belonging to the parliamentary groups Bündnis 90/DIE GRÜNEN, DIE LINKE and Freie Demokratische Partei (FDP) for abstract judicial review proceedings (2 BvF 2/18) of Art. 1 of the Act to Amend the Political Parties Act and Other Laws of 10 July 2018 (Federal Law Gazette, Bundesgesetzblatt – BGBl I p. 1116) as well as on an application in Organstreit proceedings (2 BvE 5/18) lodged by the parliamentary group Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in the German Bundestag claiming that the Bundestag had violated the rights of the AfD as a parliamentary group in the way it conducted the legislative procedure in respect of the Act.

Background:

The annual maximum amount of public funding that may be allocated to all political parties combined (absolute upper limit), which implements a decision of the Second Senate of 9 April 1992 (Decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court, Entscheidungen des Bundesverfassungsgerichts – BVerfGE 85, 264 ff.) and is laid down in §18(2) first sentence of the Political Parties Act (Parteiengesetz – PartG), was fixed at EUR 190 million in 2019 by Art. 1 of the abovementioned Act. This constitutes a raise of over EUR 24 million compared to the amount that would have been the upper limit without the amendment. This is challenged in the application for judicial review, which claims, in particular, a violation of the principle of freedom from interference by the state (Staatsfreiheit) that is rooted in Art. 21(1) of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz – GG). An application lodged by 30 current or former members of the AfD parliamentary group to join these proceedings was declared inadmissible by the Second Senate in its Order of 3 November 2020 (2 BvF 2/18).

In the Organstreit proceedings (2 BvE 5/18), the AfD parliamentary group claims in particular that the German Bundestag violated its rights of participation in the parliamentary process, given how the legislative procedure in respect of the aforementioned Act was conducted, and its right to mobilise opposition groups in society in respect of publicly significant legislative procedures. The AfD parliamentary group claims that it was given insufficient time to engage with the Act so as to prepare for the deliberations on it and to build public pressure. Applications for a preliminary injunction lodged by the AfD parliamentary group seeking the suspension of the implementation of the Act were dismissed by the Second Senate in its Order of 12 March 2019 (2 BvQ 91/18) given that the applications sought remedies not available in Organstreit proceedings.
The oral hearing will focus, in particular, on clarifying the requirements for conducting legislative procedures arising from the participation rights of a parliamentary group, and the extent to which the raise in the absolute maximum amount is compatible with the principle of freedom from interference by the state applicable to political parties under Art. 21(1) GG.

The outline of the oral hearing can be accessed here.

Information for the general public

Persons wishing to attend the oral hearing or the pronouncement of the judgment must register at the following address: 

Mr Stadtler
Postfach 1771, 76006 Karlsruhe, Germany
Phone: +49 721 9101 400
Fax: +49 721 9101 461
E-Mail: besucherdienst@bundesverfassungsgericht.de

When registering, please provide your name, first name, date of birth, and contact data (a phone or fax number or an email address). Please refer to the Federal Constitutional Court’s data protection statement for information on the protection of personal data (Arts. 13 and 14 GDPR) in the context of visitor registration. The data protection statement is available on the Federal Constitutional Court’s website under the heading “Data protection”. You may also request a paper copy of the data protection statement.

Seats will be allocated in the order in which registrations are received.

Accreditation requirements for journalists

Accreditation

The accreditation process opens upon publication of this press release and closes at 12:00 noon on Thursday, 7 October 2021. After this deadline, accreditation is no longer possible.

Please use the formprovided for accreditation requests. The form must be filled in completely and signed. If applicable, a copy of the valid press card must be enclosed; this is only necessary for the first accreditation during the card’s term of validity. The accreditation request may be sent by email to presse@bundesverfassungsgericht.de or by fax to +49 721 9101 461. Accreditation requests sent to any other email addresses or fax numbers of the Court will not be considered.

Members of the Justizpressekonferenz Karlsruhe e.V. may send their accreditation requests to the Federal Constitutional Court’s press office without having to use the form.

Accreditation requests will be considered in the order in which they are received. If requests are received simultaneously, accreditation is awarded by drawing lots. A few days after the expiry of the deadline, the Federal Constitutional Court will notify the applicants by email whether their accreditation was successful.

Please refer to the Federal Constitutional Court’s data protection statement for information on the protection of personal data (Arts. 13 and 14 GDPR) in the context of the accreditation procedure. The data protection statement is available on the Federal Constitutional Court’s website under the heading “Data protection”. You may also request a paper copy of the data protection statement.

Availability and allocation of seats

An as yet undetermined number of seats in the courtroom is available for media representatives.

Further details on available seating and on audio transmission to a separate press room as well as supplementary information on seating allocation will be announced separately.

Additional rules in the courtroom

Making phone calls, tweeting or sending other messages, accessing digital data and any other use of the Internet within or from the courtroom is not permitted. Allelectronic devices that can be used for these purposes – in particular mobile phones, laptop computers and tablet computers – may not be used in the courtroom. Media representatives may obtain permission to use computers in offline mode in the press gallery if it is ensured that the devices are not used for audio or image recording or for data transmission.

Taking photos and filming; pooling

1. Taking photos and recording audio or video is permitted until the presiding Justice has established the presence of the parties to the proceedings. After that, photographers and camera teams must leave the courtroom level. A separate room will be made available for them. Pronouncements of judgments may be recorded in their entirety.

2. Media pools will be set up for taking photos and filming in the courtroom. Two television teams (a public and a private television station with a maximum of three cameras each) and six photographers (four agency photographers and two freelance photographers) will be admitted to the building. The pool representatives are required to supply their photos and video recordings to other radio and television stations and to photo agencies upon request.

Willingness to be a pool representative must be explicitly stated in the accreditation request. Pool representatives are appointed according to the order in which the accreditation requests are received. If requests are received simultaneously, lots are drawn. The television stations, agencies and photographers that serve as pool representatives are free in determining the members of their teams.

3. When taking photographs and filming in the courtroom, it must be ensured that the Justices have an unobstructed view in all directions. Entering the area behind the Justices’ bench is not permitted. Instructions to this effect by court staff must be complied with. Taking photos and filming is only permitted with low-noise devices and without a flash.

4. After the end of the oral hearing or the pronouncement of the judgment and during the lunch break, interviewing, filming, or photographing the parties to the proceedings or other individuals is permitted only in specially designated areas.

Vehicles of technicians, radio and television crews

Only a limited number of parking spaces is available for SNG vehicles, editing vehicles and OB vans. If accredited journalists require parking space, this must be indicated along with the accreditation request on the form provided. Parking spaces are allocated in the order in which requests are received. The following information is required for the allocation of parking space: number plate, vehicle type, make, dimensions (length x width x height in metres), weight and, if applicable, whether access to a power outlet is needed.

The names, dates of birth, and ID card numbers of the technicians, as well as the vehicle data, may be submitted after the accreditation request. The form provided must be used. This also applies to media organisations represented by members of the Justizpressekonferenz. The form must be sent by email to presse@bundesverfassungsgericht.de or by fax to +49 (721) 9101 461 no later than 12:00 noon on Monday, 11 October 2021.

Media representatives with allocated parking space may set up their equipment on the day before the oral hearing between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., and on the day of the oral hearing or the pronouncement of the judgment between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.

Potential changes to these rules and additions made in this respect concerning the oral hearing of the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court on Tuesday, 12 October 2021 and Wednesday, 13 October 2021 at the Messe Karlsruhe, Messeallee 1, 76287 Rheinstetten will be announced separately.

Setting up studios

The press office must be consulted in advance if media representatives wish to set up a studio. Only designated areas at the location of the oral hearing will be available for this purpose.

This information is based on § 17a of the Federal Constitutional Court Act in conjunction with the supplementary provisions laid down by the Federal Constitutional Court.