ZParl Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen

With its ruling of December 10, 2024, on signature quorums, the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court abandoned the principle that strict constitutional control is necessary when parliamentary majorities act on their own behalf. Instead,...

Parliamentary party groups (PPGs) are crucial actors within the German Bundestag. As such, they fundamentally contributed to both the stability and the performance of Germany’s representative democracy after its new formation in 1949. Building on...

With the Act on the Federal Police Commissioner at the German Bundestag (Police Commissioner Act – PolBeauftrG) of February 28, 2024 (BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 72), the Bundestag created a new instrument for monitoring the federal government, but also the...

The representative election statistics in Germany, which have existed since the 1953 federal election (with the exception of the 1994 and 1998 federal elections), are unique worldwide. They document voter turnout by ten age groups and voting...

Parliamentary inquiry committees in the German Bundestag have extensive powers. Their purpose is to investigate and scrutinize state conduct. Their members can question witnesses just as in criminal proceedings, but without the judicial independence...

The new electoral law passed in 2023 was primarily intended to prevent dramatic increases in the size of the Bundestag, as had occurred in 2017 and 2021 due to overhang and compensation mandates. Thanks to the newly introduced mechanism of second...

Parliamentary party groups (PPG) are the central actors in Germany’s political system, yet their mode of operation is often misunderstood. To adequately assess PPG’s role, the entire legislative process must be considered and an enlightened...

This article examines the role of parliamentary party groups (PPGs) of the German Bundestag in the jurisdiction of the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG). Although the Basic Law mentions PPGs only marginally, the court qualifies them as necessary...