Introduction
By virtue of their mission, their structure and the instruments of power vested in them, the armed forces occupy a special position in the body politic of each country. It is in the interest of the state that the armed forces should only bring their influence to bear in line with the constitutional order. This applies not only to the use of military force as such, but also to the treatment of service personnel. Depending on the form of government - democratic or authoritarian - the mechanisms for ensuring that the armed forces act in accordance with the constitution vary greatly. In democratic states, efforts are made to integrate the armed forces into society and to ensure effective control over their exercise of power. In this respect, parliamentary control has a special role to play. The instruments of parliamentary control can take many forms, ranging from the right of parliament to fix the budgetary resources allocated to the armed forces and the accountability of the civilian defence minister before parliament, to the safeguarding of the rights of service personnel. In democratic states, the way parliament exercises control over the armed forces has, in part, developed along very different lines. The form such control takes can often only be understood in the light of history. This applies in particular to the Federal Republic of Germany.
