Bundesrat

Name: Famous Men and Great Events of the Nineteenth Century
Author: Charles Morris

Definition and stakes

The Bundesrat, the highest legislative body of the German Empire (1871–1918), represented the interests of Germany’s constituent states, needing its approval alongside the Reichstag for laws to become effective. Authors like James W. Gerard emphasized Prussia’s dominant role, with its 17 votes granting it de facto legislative control.

The Parliamentary Council of the Federal Republic of Germany underscored its procedural legacy, influencing modern federal-state cooperation. René Brunet observed that the Bundesrat’s future authority depended on the effectiveness of state representation. This hybrid institution, balancing national and regional powers, left a lasting impact on Germany’s legislative structure.

Quotes about “Bundesrat”

James W. Gerard, My Four Years in Germany

“ Prussia, which has seventeen votes, may name seventeen members of the Bundesrat or one member, who, however, when he votes casts seventeen votes. The votes of a State must always be cast as a unit. In the usual procedure bills are prepared and adopted in the Bundesrat and then sent to the Reichstag whence, if passed, they return to the Bundesrat where the final approval must take place. Therefore, in practice, the Bundesrat makes the laws with the assent of the Reichstag. The members of the Bundesrat have the right to appear and make speeches in the Reichstag. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Parliamentary Council of the Federal Republic of Germany, Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (2010)

“ The Bundestag and the Bundesrat shall debate such bills in joint session without delay. Insofar as the consent of the Bundesrat is necessary for any such bill to become law, a majority of its votes shall be required. Details shall be regulated by rules of procedure adopted by the Bundestag and requiring the consent of the Bundesrat.
(3) The second sentence of paragraph (3) of Article 115a shall apply to the promulgation of such laws mutatis mutandis. ”

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Source: Wikisource

René Brunet, The New German Constitution

“ What authority it will be able to exercise in the future will depend on the quality of its work and on the personalities by which the states will be represented. The Cabinet of the Reich, like all the members of the Reichsrat, is authorized to propose measures in the Reichsrat. The plenary sessions of the latter, in contrast to those of the Bundesrat, are theoretically public; its committee meetings are not. Decisions are made by a simple majority of those voting. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Parliamentary Council, Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (1949)

“ The Laender shall participate through the medium of the Bundesrat in the legislation and the administration of the Federation.
Article 51
(1) The Bundesrat shall consist of members of the Governments of the Laender which shall appoint and recall them. They may be represented by other members of their Governments.
(2) Each Land shall have at least three votes; Laender with more than two million inhabitants shall have four, Laender with more than six million inhabitants shall have five votes.
(3) Every Land may delegate as many members as it has votes. ”

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Source: Wikisource

baron Beyens, Germany before the war

“ The Bundesrat, composed of representatives sent to it by the individual States, is a pliable tool in the140 hands of the Emperor and the other German rulers, who themselves obey the Imperial will. It shares the legislative power with the head of the Empire and with the Reichstag.
Bismarck held that the best way of uprooting the particularism of the small States and clearing the ground for final unification was to invite all citizens of twenty-five years and upwards to elect representatives for the central Parliament. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Frederic Austin Ogg, The Governments of Europe

“ Delegates are very commonly officials, frequently ministers, of the states which they represent. They are appointed afresh for each session, and they may be recalled or replaced at any time. The purely federal character of the Bundesrath is further emphasized by two principal facts. The members speak and act and vote regularly, not at their own discretion, but under the specific instructions of the governing authorities by whom they are accredited. Only rarely do their instructions allow to them any considerable measure of independence. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Charles Morris, Famous Men and Great Events of the Nineteenth Century

“ In the constitution of the new empire two legislative bodies were provided for, the Bundesrath or Federal Council, whose members are annually appointed by the respective state governments, and the Reichstag or Representative body, whose members are elected by universal suffrage for a period of three years, an annual session being required. Germany, therefore, in its present organization, is practically a federal union of states, each with its own powers of internal government, and with a common legislature approximating to our Senate and House of Representatives. ”

Bundesrat

Definition and stakes

Quotes about “Bundesrat”

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