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Research papers published by the Research Services of the German Bundestag - 2011
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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Recent rulings by the Federal Court of Justice affecting maintenance to care for a child
This issue of the Topical Term looks at the maintenance which a single parent may be entitled to receive from the other parent in order to stay at home to care for a child, and how this has been affected by the 2008 maintenance reform and recent rulings by the Federal Court of Justice. It begins by setting out the legal situation prior to the maintenance reform and the details of the reform. The Federal Court of Justice has now ruled that any use of a rigid model where entitlement to maintenance is determined primarily by the child’s age, as was formerly the case, is no longer permitted.
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Land grabbing
In the past five years, large-scale purchases and leases of land by foreign investors in developing countries have become the subject of intense debate. Attention was first drawn to this phenomenon by NGOs which campaign for the rights of the local populations. In the meantime, a whole range of organisations involved in official development aid, governments of industrialised countries and the United Nations now see a need to address this particular form of direct investment and the dangers it poses. This report takes a closer look at the term land grabbing and relates the current progress of considerations of how to limit the dangers.
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Tax Simplification Act of 2011
The Tax Simplification Act (StVerG) of 2011, which will enter into force on 1 January 2012, introduces a range of new measures, particularly in the Income Tax Act (EStG), intended to simplify the tax assessment process both for taxpayers and for the tax administration. The measures include an increase in the general allowance to cover professional expenses, an end to means-testing for child benefit and a reduction in the number of types of assessment for married couples.
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De-Mail
This Topical Term explains the new "De-Mail" communications services. Unlike normal e-mail systems, "De-Mails" are intended to allow the encrypted and verifiable exchange of electronic documents between persons with secure identification, including for official correspondence between citizens and government agencies, doctors, banks, insurance companies and firms. The Topical Term outlines this new project, as well as questions yet to be resolved, criticisms expressed, and the stage reached in implementation.
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The EU's relations with Russia
Relations between the European Union (EU) and Russia take place within the framework of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA), which entered into force on 1 December 1997. The PCA aims to promote political dialogue, trade and investment, along with social, financial and cultural cooperation between the EU and Russia. A new basis for further intensification of relations was achieved at the 11th EU-Russia Summit in St Petersburg in May 2003, with the introduction of four common spaces: a Common Economic Space, a Common Space of Freedom, Security and Justice, a Common Space of External Security and a Common Space of Research and Education, Including Cultural Aspects. Since July 2008, negotiations have been ongoing regarding a follow-up agreement to the PCA, to deepen ties between the EU and Russia. The New EU-Russia Agreement is intended in particular to ensure greater legal certainty in the field of energy policy.
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Regulating systemically important financial institutions
Regulating systemically important financial institutions is one of the topics currently on the international reform agenda. The term "systemically important financial institutions" is generally used where the sudden failure of an institute would threaten the solvency of other institutions, perhaps triggering a crisis of the financial system and even a crisis of the real economy ("contagion effects"). One of the problems seen as being associated with systemically important financial institutions is that bailing them out would require huge sums of taxpayers’ money. Furthermore, it is felt that the expectation that they would be rescued by the state in a crisis encourages negative developments which can threaten the overall stability of financial markets. Various options for regulating systemically important financial institutions are currently on the table: restrictions on mergers or the breaking-up of existing financial institutions, stricter capital requirements and the establishment of reorganisation and winding-up procedures.
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A climate policy instrument to prevent deforestation: REDD+
REDD+ is a new instrument of international climate policy. It involves the conservation and enhancement of forests in developing and emerging economy countries, with financial compensation being provided by industrialised nations. Not only do forests store carbon dioxide and thus mitigate climate change, they are also home to indigenous peoples and are the natural habitat of 50 to 70 per cent of terrestrial species of flora and fauna. Agreement has been reached in the international climate negotiations that REDD+ should be included in a future convention on climate change. No binding agreement has been reached on the details of financing, monitoring and implementation, however.
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Dementia
In the coming years, ageing societies will experience a drastic increase in the number of people suffering from dementia. Despite intensive research, no cure is in sight. To date, no reliable tests for early diagnosis exist either, in part because while certain plaques in the brain are considered typical of dementia, not every person with them suffers from or goes on to develop dementia. The introduction in 2008 of a new category for dementia sufferers in Germany's long-term care system has provided greater scope for the financial burden on people caring for family members who suffer from dementia to be reduced.
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Judgement by the Federal Constitutional Court on the aid to Greece and the euro rescue package
This Topical Term analyses the judgement made by the Federal Constitutional Court on 7 September rejecting three constitutional complaints against German and European measures in the context of financial assistance for Greece and the temporary rescue package for the euro. The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that the powers vested in the Bundestag by the voters on the basis of Article 38 (1) of the Basic Law are not infringed by the budgetary commitments made in Germany to provide guarantees in the framework of rescue packages, since the Bundestag’s power of the purse is not being undermined in an inadmissible fashion. Nevertheless, the Federal Constitutional Court made clear that the Bundestag must retain its influence on decisions to provide guarantees.
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The right of environmental organisations to take legal action, based on the European Court of Justice’s ruling of 12 May 2011 (Case C-115/09) concerning the Trianel coal-fired power station in Lünen
On 12 May 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) set a legal precedent, in which it expanded the rights of environmental organisations to take legal action. The ECJ infers from the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment) that NGOs promoting environmental protection have a right to take legal action against the approval of projects which may possibly have serious impacts on the environment. In court cases, environmental organisations can cite the impairment of environmental provisions which derive from Community law, including provisions which are intended to serve the interests of the general public alone and not to protect the legal interests of individual.
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European Parliament elections - clauses setting a threshold for the minimum percentage of votes required in order for a party to win seats
Since the requirements placed on the Member States under EU law allow the Member States considerable room for manoeuvre in formulating their provisions on elections to the European Parliament, the procedures in the Member States vary quite significantly. Clauses setting thresholds for a minimum percentage of votes required in order for a party to gain seats in Parliament have been the subject of particular attention recently. Against this background, this Topical Term examines three possible types of existing or conceivable thresholds: thresholds at national level, Europe-wide thresholds and provisions which are part of a network of thresholds at European level.
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The farm transfer clause in the Old-Age Security for Farmers Act
The Old-Age Benefits for Farmers Act (GAH) of 27 July 1957 established a separate compulsory pension system for farmers. A special feature of this law was the farm transfer clause, which served to justify the establishment of a separate scheme with the farming profession playing an important role in its administration, as well as the allocation of state subsidies for it in the Ministry of Agriculture's budget. Numerous amendments to this law, and the introduction in 1994 of a new Old-Age Security for Farmers Act (ALG), increasingly brought the retirement scheme for farmers into line with the general statutory pension system. However, none of these changes affected the clause requiring retiring farmers to transfer their farm to a successor in order to receive their pension. Given that the situation today is entirely different to when the clause was introduced - structural change has made it increasingly difficult for retiring farmers to find successors – this requirement has come in for growing criticism in recent years; however, it is still defended vehemently by the Federal Government and by the farming profession. This study examines the arguments in detail.
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Health tourism
Health is becoming an increasingly important priority for society and there is growing demand for holidays which benefit holidaymakers’ health. As a result, the German Tourism Association (DTV) launched an initiative called "Innovative health tourism in Germany", with funding from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The initiative produced guidelines setting out recommended strategies for making further advances in the area of health tourism.
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The European Union during the Polish presidency
On 1 July 2011, Poland took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union from Belgium for the second half of 2011. The recently published programme for the presidency focuses on three priorities: European integration as a source of growth, secure Europe - food, energy, defence and Europe benefiting from openness. These priorities are also intended to put the EU on the path to faster development.
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The European Commission’s proposed multiannual financial framework for 2014 - 2020
The multiannual financial framework (MFF) is the main instrument for medium-term financial planning in the European Union; since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon it has been codi-fied in Article 312 TFEU. On the basis of a proposal by the Commission, the MFF is established for a period of at least five years by a regulation which is adopted unanimously by the Council after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament. One of the aims of the MFF is to ensure that EU expenditure develops in an orderly manner, within the limits of its own resources. To this end, the MFF defines annual ceilings on commitment appropriations by category of expenditure and on payment appropriations. Resources are allocated to individual policy areas in line with the EU’s current policy priorities.
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Development and Importance of Knowledge Voluntarily Offered in the Internet with Special Regard to Wiki-Initiatives
In the background of the current political discussion of adjusting copyright law to digital requirements the phenomenon of voluntarily created knowledge and content, which is free for all Internet users, plays a special role. According to the commonly cited arguments justifying copyright law the Internet offer of free knowledge and content wouldn’t exist - at least not in such an extent. Since authors are not payed and even don’t get any compensation for their expenses there wouldn’t be incentives to be productive and to increase public welfare. Nevertheless the huge success of for example the free online-encyclopedia Wikipedia as an collaborative content management system demonstrates that there are worldwide many volunteers willing to create free knowledge and content which is also strongly demanded by Internet users. The Website of Wikipedia is one of the most demanded pages in the Internet. Only a few search engines and one social network reach higher amounts of clicks. Free knowledge and content created on an honorary basis obviously play an important role in the Internet and create public welfare worldwide. The paper focuses on the development, significance and impact of such created content emphasizing on Wiki-projects with special regard to the Wikipedia project.
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The Special Representative on Cases of Child Abuse
On 24 March 2010, former federal minister Dr Christine Bergmann was appointed by the Federal Government as the independent Special Representative on Cases of Child Abuse. On 24 May 2011, she presented her final report, which set out recommendations on how to help and support the victims of sexual abuse. During the period covered by the report, 2087 victims of abuse contacted her in writing, and over 11,395 by telephone. An analysis of the information they supplied showed that 52% of the cases of abuse took place within the family and 32% in institutions. In 9% of cases, the abuse took place within the wider community; strangers were responsible for the abuse in only a small number of cases (7%). In her report, the Special Representative recommended that the availability of specific forms of therapy be increased, that abused children be given a legal entitlement (independent of their parents) to advice and support, and that the statute of limitations be extended. The report also called for victims to be entitled to compensation.
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The imposition of smart sanctions by the United Nations and the European Union
"Smart" or "targeted sanctions" are used as an instrument to exert pressure on states, entities or individuals in order, for example, to end human rights violations or to promote democracy and the rule of law. They may include travel bans, financial or diplomatic restrictions, as well as embargoes on goods such as weapons or commodities. This publication explores the legal framework for the imposition of smart sanctions by the United Nations and the European Union, as well as the options for legal protection open to the entities or individuals targeted by these sanctions.
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Deportations to Greece on the basis of the Dublin II Regulation contravene the European Convention on Human Rights
This topical term examines the problematic issues surrounding the transfer of asylum seekers on the basis of the Dublin II Regulation to Greece, where the asylum authorities are currently completely overburdened. The background to this is a ruling issued by the European Court of Human Rights on 12 January 2011, in which the Court ruled that Greece and Belgium had contravened the European Convention on Human Rights through an expulsion carried out on this basis, on the grounds that they had failed to comply with the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment and to ensure an effective right of appeal.
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The status of Western Sahara with respect to international law
This Factsheet provides an overview of the background to the conflict between Morocco and Polisario on the status of Western Sahara and explains how the conflict has unfolded over a period of more than 35 years. It then sets out the positions of Morocco and Polisario regarding the status of Western Sahara and the solutions they propose. Finally, the Factsheet offers an overview of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara.
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The Victory Column in
On 20 May 2011, the Victory Column in Berlin was once again unveiled following extensive renovation. The Column is one of Berlin’s most striking monuments. Wilhelm I commissioned the construction of this monument in 1864 as the King of Prussia. Only nine years later, on 2 September 1873 - after having been crowned Emperor of Germany - he inaugurated the Column with an elaborate ceremony. The Victory Column was built at Königsplatz, today Platz der Republik, where the construction of the Reichstag Building began eleven years later. The Victory Column remained in this location for 65 years, until the National Socialists moved it to the Großer Stern in 1938/1939. At a cost of 1.8 million Goldmarks, the Victory Column in Berlin was one of the grandest and most expensive monument projects of the 19th Century. It was planned as a monument to the victory against the Danes in 1864 and, on completion in 1873, it became the first national monument of the German Empire.
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Preventive Detention
On 4 May 2011, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the existing provisions for ordering and implementing preventive detention for criminal offenders were unconstitutional. This Topical Term sets out the history of preventive detention, explains the recent ruling and looks at what is now expected of legislators.
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Telemedicine
Telemedicine is something which can help in the medical field to bridge long distances, by allowing medical services to be provided or implemented via information and communications technology. Telemedicine is used where patients and healthcare professionals, or various healthcare professionals, are unable to be in the same place. The multi-systems expansion of telemedicine services and areas of treatment represents one of the greatest IT challenges facing the German health system. This "Topical Term" describes the areas in which telemedicine is used, giving the example of "telemonitoring"; it examines the current stage of implementation in Germany and looks at the potential of telemedicine against the background of demographic change and medical provision in Germany’s rural areas.
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The powers granted to the Commission by the Treaty of Lisbon to implement legislative a
Just as, at national level, many substantive law provisions are issued as ordinances by the executive, at European level, the European Commission, in its executive function, plays a significant role in European Union legislation. The Treaty of Lisbon, which came into force on 1 December 2009, along with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 at the level of secondary law, which came into force on 1 March 2011, contains a fundamental reform regarding the conferral on the Commission of implementing powers. This "Topical Term" provides an overview of the new legal provisions and compares them to the old legal situation.
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2011 Census
In the context of the 2011 Census (for which the official date is 9 May), statistics are to be complied on the population, buildings and housing. In order to obtain reliable population figures and valid basic data for use in political and economic planning and decisions in all EU Member States, the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council obliges countries to carry out population and housing censuses - the 2011 Census. In Germany, provisions on the obligation to furnish information and on the details concerning data protection are contained in the law on censuses. This census is scheduled to be repeated every ten years.
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Identification requirements for police officers in the Member States of the European Union
This factsheet provides an overview of issues relating to identification requirements for police officers in different European countries. The overview is based on the responses from the par-liaments of the EU Member States to a request for information transmitted via the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation (ECPRD).
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The election of the judges of the European Court of Human Rights
The election of the judges of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is one of the important tasks of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. This procedure sets the ECHR apart from other international courts. Some academics specialising in international law see this means of electing judges as having the potential to give legitimacy to the exercise of jurisdiction by international courts. A number of developments have recently resulted in the election procedure becoming the focus of parliamentary attention. These developments are set out in this issue of the Topical Term.
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The Ecodesign Directive
The Ecodesign Directive, adopted by the EU in 2005, introduced the concept of environmentally friendly product design (ecodesign). The aim was to improve the environmental performance and energy efficiency of specific products across the whole of their life cycle - from the selection of raw materials, to the use phase, to disposal. To this end, mandatory minimum requirements for product design were established. The recasting of the Directive in 2009 widened its scope to include more product categories. The Directive is intended to help the EU reach its climate change targets and reduce energy and resource consumption. Another aim is to prevent trade barriers and unfair competition in the EU.
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Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute violations of international law in Libya
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Results-based financing in development cooperation
Results-Based Management (RBM) in development cooperation is one of the main principles enshrined in the Paris Declaration agreed at the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 2005. The focus of the planning mechanisms used in OECD members' bilateral and multilateral development cooperation has since largely shifted to defining indicators for expected results. The advantages of Results-Based Financing (RBF) compared to traditional, input-based approaches appear to include ensuring greater ownership of implementation by the partner countries and demonstrating the legitimacy of the funding invested in development cooperation via the results achieved (value for money). RBF is less a development strategy in its own right than an instrument that can be used in the context of various aid modalities and at various levels.
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The establishment of a permanent European Stability Mechanism by means of the simplified treaty revision procedure
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Free movement of workers following the eastward enlargement of the European Union - Opportunities and risks for the labour market
From 1 May 2011, unrestricted freedom of movement for workers from eight new EU Members States in Central and Eastern Europe will also apply in Germany. Likewise, by 1 January 2014 at the latest, the same freedom of movement will be enjoyed by workers from Bulgaria and Romania. Many concerns have been expressed about possible negative impacts on the labour market for nationals. Recent scientific studies, which also examine experiences in those EU Member States which opened up their labour markets from the beginning, conclude that these concerns are unfounded.
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The new E 10 fuel
The Bundestag and the Federal Government are aiming to achieve a massive reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2020, in order to limit global warming. In addition to reductions due to technical improvements, one particularly important approach is to replace petroleum products with products derived from renewable resources. With regard to transport, the focus is on the use of biofuels or the blending of biofuels with fossil fuels.
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Asset price bubbles and monetary policy
In the current debate on how the financial system can be made more immune to crises, the issue of asset price bubbles has increasingly become the focus of political and academic discussion. Before the outbreak of the financial crisis in August 2007, the concept of central bank intervention in asset price bubbles as they form was largely rejected internationally because of various difficulties. The policy of non-intervention is coming in for growing criticism, however.
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Art in architecture in the GDR
In the former GDR, numerous artistic works were created for administrative buildings, factories, and buildings of cultural and social institutions, as an integral part of public building projects. The promotion of art for buildings dated from a decree issued on 16 March 1950. This was based on the assumption that art could best fulfil a political and ideological function when located at heavily used buildings. Although the architecture-related art at the end of the GDR took in a wide spectrum of works from socialist propaganda to autonomous artistic expression, the more important works are seen as symbols of the Socialist Unity Party dictatorship, a fact that, to this day, influences the debate about how to treat art for buildings that originated in the GDR.
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Collective renunciation of panel doctor licences (licences to practice within the statutory health insurance schemes)
For years now, general practice doctors (GPs) have been complaining about excessive bureaucratisation, budget-capping, and inferior remuneration compared to their consultant colleagues. It is argued that the latter situation, in particular, results from the GPs having too weak a negotiating position in the associations of statutory health insurance physicians vis-à-vis the health insurance funds, for remuneration and other issues. The GPs' representatives hoped that a mass declaration renouncing panel doctor licences would, sooner or later, cause a crisis in the system of panel doctor care, which would henceforward force the health insurance funds to negotiate agreements with the GPs on the basis of private law. This issue of the Topical Term discusses the plan for collective renunciation in Bavaria, and describes the legal consequences of such a move.
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The European External Action Service takes up its work
On 1 December 2010, exactly one year after the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the European External Action Service (EEAS) began its work. On 1 January 2011, the first transfer of civil servants to the EEAS from the European Commission and the Secretariat of the Council of the European Union took place. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, currently has a staff of 3645 to assist her in her work and ensure the coherence of foreign policy action within the EU.
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The Animal Welfare Commission at the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection
This issue of the Topical Term deals with the Order of the Federal Constitutional Court (Federal Constitutional Court, Order of 12 October 2010, 2 BvF 1/07) stating that the procedure followed in the adoption of provisions on keeping laying hens was unconstitutional, as the Animal Welfare Commission at the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection was not consulted at a sufficiently early stage. This Topical Term examines the Animal Welfare Commission and its working methods.
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The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Consumer Protection of the Länder and the Federation - coordinating measures to protect consumers in the dioxin scandal
The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Consumer Protection, an institution established by Germany's federal states, or Länder, coordinates measures taken by the Länder and the Federation in dealing with issues relating to consumer protection. Particularly in the current dioxin scandal it is clear that, in view of the complex distribution of responsibilities and tasks in a food safety crisis, the Conference is a useful and effective instrument.
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The ordinary legislative procedure
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New EU employment guidelines
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The Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union
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International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Kosovo's Declaration of Independence
In its advisory opinion of 22 July 2010, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concludes that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence on 17 February 2008 does not represent a violation of international law. The ICJ does not, however, state its position on the highly controversial question of the importance of the right to self-determination in the case of Kosovo. ICJ advisory opinions are not legally binding. They do, however, have considerable authority, since they set out the views of the main judicial body of the United Nations. This Topical Term sets out the background to and the reasoning behind the advisory opinion and analyses it.