The Bundestag: tasks and how it works

In short: The German Bundestag is the parliament of the Federal Republic, elected by the people. It passes federal laws, elects the Federal Chancellor and scrutinises the federal government.

In more detail: The Bundestag is normally elected every four years and meets in the Reichstag building in Berlin. It is the only constitutional body at federal level that is elected directly by the citizens.

In detail

• Legislation: Federal laws are debated and passed in the Bundestag in several readings; depending on the law, the Bundesrat (the chamber of the federal states) is also involved.
• Electing the Chancellor: On the proposal of the Federal President, the Bundestag elects the head of government and can only remove them through a constructive vote of no confidence, that is, by electing a successor.
• Budgetary power: The Bundestag decides by law on the federal budget, meaning the revenue and spending of the federation.
• Scrutiny of the government: Through questions, government question time and committees of inquiry, members check what the government does; the opposition plays a special role here.
• Members: According to the Basic Law they represent the whole people, are not bound by orders or instructions and are answerable only to their conscience (free mandate).
• Parliamentary groups: Members of the same party usually form parliamentary groups, which organise the work of parliament and are allocated speaking time and committee seats.
• Committees: The detailed work on draft laws takes place in specialist committees, which can also hear expert witnesses.
• Presidium: The President of the Bundestag chairs the sittings and represents parliament; in terms of protocol the office ranks as the second highest in the state.
• Context: The Bundestag is part of the legislature in the system of separation of powers and is composed through the electoral system (gewaltenteilung-legislative-exekutive-judikative, wahlen-und-wahlsystem-in-deutschland).