Research papers published by the Research Services of the Deutscher Bundestag
This page sets out the English summaries of the research papers published by the Research Services. A link from the end of the summary will take you to the complete research paper in German.
Please note the disclaimer and copyright notice.
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Decision of the Federal Constitutional Court on the quasi-retroactive application of tax legislation
In a judgment on 10 October 2012, the Federal Constitutional Court added to its decisions on quasi-retroactive tax legislation, i.e. legislation which applies retroactively to the current tax period. In future, stricter standards will have to be met with regard to the protection of legitimate expectations and the proportionality of the legislation. This issue of the Topical Term explains the essentials of the concept of retroactivity and the principle of the protection of legitimate interests, then goes on to examine the main aspects of the Federal Constitutional Court’s judgment and the reasons given for its changes to the standards which must be met for quasi-retroactive tax legislation to be admissible.
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The banning of political parties under the Basic Law and the European Convention on Human Rights
On 14 December 2012, the Bundesrat decided to initiate proceedings to ban the far-right NPD party. This raises questions regarding the legal framework for these proceedings. The Basic Law, Germany’s constitution, guarantees and protects the existence of political parties, but it also allows them to be banned, as the last resort of a "vigilant democracy". In addition, the European Convention on Human Rights also establishes a yardstick for whether the banning of a political party is lawful, and this must be heeded if a ban imposed by the state is to be compatible with the Convention.
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Programme of the Irish EU Presidency
On 1 January 2013, Ireland assumed the six-month presidency of the EU for the seventh time since its accession to the European Union in 1973. Ireland, as a country busy getting its economy back on track, intends to use the Council presidency to help get Europe’s economy back on track. The programme for the presidency is thus entitled "For Stability, Jobs and Growth".
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Ten years of the Franco-German Parliamentary Prize
In 2003, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, the presidiums of the German Bundestag and the Assemblée nationale took the decision to establish a Franco-German Parliamentary Prize. The prize is awarded to works of a high standard which enhance, to a special degree, the two countries’ understanding of each other. The winner is chosen by a jury chaired by the presidents of the two parliaments and composed of two members of parliament and two academics from each country. The prizes are presented to the winners by the presidents of the two parliaments at an official ceremony. The two most recent prizes were awarded in 2010 to Anne Kwaschik for her biography of cultural historian Robert Minder, and to Evelyne and Victor Brandts for their book "Aujourd’hui l’Allemagne" (Germany today).