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The Joint Committee

A constitutional organ which is little known because it has virtually no functions to perform in peacetime and its meetings pass unnoticed by the public is the Joint Committee, an emergency parliament which replaces the Bundestag and the Bundesrat if, in a state of tension or defence, the Bundestag can no longer meet (Art. 53a in conjunction with Arts. 115a and 115e of the Basic Law).

The number of members of the Joint Committee is based on the number of Länder and has therefore increased as a result of the restoration of German unity. For every representative of a Land, there are two Members of the Bundestag; the latter are appointed by the Bundestag in line with the relative strengths of the parliamentary groups. The Joint Committee therefore consists of 16 representatives of the Länder and 32 Members of the Bundestag and thus comprises 48 members.

The Joint Committee is chaired by the President of the Bundestag; a member of the Bundesrat is appointed as his deputy. The Joint Committee takes decisions by a simple majority; if they vote unanimously, the representatives of the Bundestag can thus always outvote the Bundesrat. In peacetime the Federal Government must inform the Joint Committee of its defence policy plans at least twice a year. The Joint Committee is not competent to take decisions in peacetime.