Name of the act/s*

Rule 126a) GOBT – Rules of Procedure of the German Bundestag (Geschäftsordnung Bundestag), amended by Bundestag decision of 25 March 2020

Subject area

Organization and working methods of the German Parliament

Brief description of the contents of the act

According to Rule 45, para. 1 GOBT, “a quorum of the Bundestag shall exist when more than one half of its Members are present in the Chamber”. If the lack of a quorum has been ascertained – in particular following a request by a parliamentary group or by five percent of the Member of the Bundestag – the President shall immediately terminate the sitting (Rule 45, para. 3). By way of derogation from Rule 45, para. 1, Rule 126a) GOBT provides that a quorum of the Bundestag shall exist “when more than one quarter of its Members are present in the Chamber”. This apply until 30 September 2020 but the Bundestag can repeal Rule 126a) at any time. Through its decision of 17 September 2020, the Bundestag extended this Rule’s application until 31 December 2020.     

Comment

As the title of the Rule makes clear, Rule 126a) provides for an “Extraordinary application of the Rules of Procedure in response to the general restrictions arising from Covid-19”. In particular, it allows the Parliament to validly work with a reduced number of members participating in the sitting, to avoid spreading the Covid-19 infection. In practice, given that the Bundestag consists of 709 members, the presence of 178 of them suffices. The provision also allows the use of electronic communications media for voting and adopting decisions in the Committees (para. 3). By contrast, it is considered that a constitutional amendment is necessary to allow the Bundestag to hold sessions and vote online.     

Secondary sources/ doctrinal works (if any)

Further readings: L. Hering, Covid-19 and constitutional law: the case of Germany, in J.M. Serna de la Garza (ed.), Covid-19 and Constitutional Law, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, 2020, 149-156

*Act citation /year and number

Bundestag decisions 25 March 2020 (BGBl. I S. 764) and 17 September 2020 (BGBl. I S. 2067)

Enacted by

German Bundestag

Official link to the text of the act

https://www.bundestag.de/parlament/aufgaben/rechtsgrundlagen/go_btg/go_btg-197104

https://www.bundestag.de/en/documents/legal