FEDERAL COUNCIL
| GERMANY |
| BUNDESRAT FEDERAL COUNCIL |
As the Länder Chamber, the Federal Council or Bundesrat is a federal body in which the individual Länder participate in the legislation and administration of the Federation. In contrast to the Federal Parliament , however, the members of the Federal Council are not appointed by the electorate but by the Land governments. They are subject to the instructions of their respective governments and are therefore not deputies within the meaning of the Constitution . Each Land has a certain quota of representatives in the Federal Council, depending on the number of inhabitants in that particular Land. Each Land may send as many members and additional substitutes as it has votes. Representatives of each Land must vote unanimously.
The Federal Council elects half of the judges of the Federal Constitutional Court . It has the right to initiate statutes . Furthermore, in some cases the actual enactment of federal statutes is dependent on its express assent (statute requiring assent ). It can also make objection to many statutes that are passed by the Federal Parliament (statute not requiring assent). It is when the political majority in the Federal Council differs from that in the Federal Parliament that the weight of its influence is particularly evident; in these circumstances the Federal Council actually constitutes a counterweight to the Federal Government and can block certain policies.
Please note: the European industrial relations glossaries were compiled between 1991 and 2003 and are not updated. For current material see the European industrial relations dictionary.