Senate initiates "firewall" for Constitutional Court

The Berlin Constitutional Court rules on particularly important and fundamental issues. (Archive photo)

The black-red Berlin Senate wants to strengthen the Constitutional Court and make it more resilient against extremist forces.

He initiated various constitutional amendments to this end, as Senator of Justice Felor Badenberg (CDU) announced after the meeting. 

Term of office for constitutional judges to be enshrined in state constitution

Essentially, they aim to regulate the status, structure, and composition of Berlin's highest court in the constitution rather than in a law. This raises the hurdles for changing this again later on, as a two-thirds majority in parliament is required for a constitutional amendment, whereas a simple majority is sufficient for a change in the law. According to Badenberg, the state constitution should in future stipulate that constitutional judges serve a seven-year term and may not be elected for a second term. However, they should continue to perform their duties after their term of office has expired until a successor is appointed. This means that if there are problems with the election of new constitutional judges, which takes place in the House of Representatives, Berlin's highest court would remain capable of acting.

Constitutional judges may only be dismissed by Constitutional Court

According to the plans, the eligibility requirements will also be enshrined in the constitution. Only persons who have reached the age of 35 and are eligible for election to the German Bundestag can be elected as constitutional judges. The Senate also wants to stipulate that only the Constitutional Court itself, and not politicians, can remove a constitutional judge from office if he or she is permanently unable to perform his or her duties or has been sentenced to more than six months' imprisonment. Constitutional judges are therefore not subject to the disciplinary regulations applicable to judges.

Court of Justice should act autonomously and independently

The constitution should also stipulate that the court is a constitutional body like the Senate or the House of Representatives and acts independently of them with its own rules of procedure. All decisions of the Constitutional Court are therefore binding on the other constitutional bodies as well as all courts and authorities of the State of Berlin.

Constitutional amendment to come into force before summer recess

A two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives is required for the planned constitutional amendments. The CDU/SPD coalition needs the votes of at least one other parliamentary group to achieve this. According to their own statements, the Left Party and the Greens support the plans, which Badenberg has already discussed with the parliamentary groups. According to the senator, the constitutional amendments are to come into force before the summer recess.

New regulations for a "constitutional firewall"

"By anchoring key principles at the constitutional level, Berlin is strengthening the independence of its Constitutional Court in the long term," said Badenberg. "This will ensure that it can continue to reliably fulfill its role as the supreme body of constitutional control in the state of Berlin in the future." According to the senator, the previous regulations offered an "open flank" that could be used to put political pressure on the judiciary. This flank is now being closed, with Badenberg referring to a "constitutional firewall."