The Defence Committee as a committee of inquiry

The Defence Committee has a special status as the only committee with the right to convene as a committee of inquiry (Article 45a (2) of the Basic Law, Germany’s constitution). All other committees require a parliamentary decision to do so. A committee of inquiry is Parliament’s strongest weapon in scrutinising government actions. The committee of inquiry can itself clarify matters by taking evidence, for instance by interviewing witnesses or inspecting files.

The procedures for the inquiry are largely organised along similar lines to those of a conventional committee of inquiry established under Article 44 (1) of the Basic Law. This article states that “The Bundestag shall have the right, and on the motion of one quarter of its Members the duty, to establish a committee of inquiry, which shall take the requisite evidence at public hearings. The public may be excluded.” The relevant procedural regulations are contained in the Act Governing the Legal Framework for Committees of Inquiry of the German Bundestag, passed in 2003. Under Section 34 (4) of this Act, its provisions also apply to the procedures of the Defence Committee when it convenes as a committee of inquiry. In addition, Section 34 of this Act contains a number of special provisions taking into account the special situation of the Defence Committee serving as a committee of inquiry. For example, since the composition of the Defence Committee is identical to that of the committee of inquiry, the Act states that the Chair of the Defence Committee also chairs the committee of inquiry. Another special regulation is set out in the Basic Law itself, in Article 45a (3), which declares that Article 44 (1) – which includes the principle that evidence is taken in public – does not apply to defence matters.