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.

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• Topical Term from 2015/08/31
  10 years of e-petitions and public petitions
  

  Marking the tenth anniversary of the introduction of e-petitions and public petitions, the text describes the legal foundation of these and provides practical examples.

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• Topical Term from 2015/08/19
  25 years ago: The People’s Chamber of the GDR adopts first legal resolution on the treatment of Stasi records 
  

  On 24 August 1990, the only freely elected People’s Chamber of the GDR passed the “Act on the preservation and use of personal data kept by the former Ministry of State Security / Office of National Security”. This later formed the basis of what was to become known as the Stasi Files Act, passed on 12 November 1991 by the Bundestag, now representing all of Germany. This is regarded as one of the most important achievements of the Peaceful Revolution of 1989. This would likely not have been possible without the commitment of the People’s Chamber and the civil rights movement in the GDR.

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• Topical Term from 2015/07/28
  On the issue of the German Federation’s legislative competence to regulate home childcare allowance – ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court of 21 July 2015
  

  This Topical Term outlines the background, content and impact of the Court’s ruling of 21 July 2015 on home childcare allowance.

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• Topical Term from 2015/07/27
  The Voting Rights Act and universal suffrage 
  

  Fifty years ago, on 6 August 1965, the American civil rights movement’s fight to ensure equal voting rights for the country’s ethnic minorities achieved victory when the Voting Rights Act was passed by the US Congress. Since that day, all citizens of the United States of America have the right to vote and be elected to public office, regardless of the colour of their skin, where they come from or how much they earn.

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• Factsheet from 2015/07/23
  The law on the protection of classified information – Requirements and consequences
  

  This factsheet provides an overview of federal law on the protection of classified information. After outlining the legal foundation and key principles of the state secrecy laws, it goes on to explain the various security classifications and provide examples. One area of focus is then to outline the consequences of classification. This involves issues of access authorisation, protective technical and organisational measures and the screening of individuals, the intensity of which depends on the level of security classification. In closing, a summary is provided of classification practice checks and the treatment of classified material.

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• Topical Term from 2015/07/20
  Tax relief for single parents
  

  The tax relief for single parents provided for under section 24b of the Income Tax Act (EStG) takes into consideration the often higher living costs of those referred to as genuinely single parents, compared with other individuals looking after children. From 2015 the amount of tax relief will be raised for the first time since 2004 and scaled according to the number of children.

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• Topical Term from 2015/07/20
  Murder and manslaughter – current reform debate
  

  The current provisions under criminal law covering murder and manslaughter (sections 211 and 212 of the Criminal Code, referred to respectively as “murder under specific aggravating circumstances” and “murder”) were largely introduced into the Criminal Code in 1941 and have for some time been the subject of potential legal reform plans, and are increasingly so today. This Topical Term lays out selected key points of the debate, along with historical legal aspects and current developments.

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• Topical Term from 2015/07/10
  The Potsdam Agreement 
  

  The 2nd of August 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Potsdam Agreement. In summer 1945 in Potsdam, the heads of government of the three main allies in the anti-Hitler coalition discussed the restructuring of Europe and the future of Germany after the end of the Second World War. The Potsdam Agreement included the points upon which all parties were in agreement. It set out the arrangements for the allocation of allied claims to reparations, established political and economic principles for Germany and determined the western border of Poland.

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• Topical Term from 2015/07/07
  Challenges for the African Union 
  

  The African Union (AU) ended its summit in South Africa on 15 June. This event tackled the most urgent problems and challenges facing the African continent: expansion of infrastructure and energy provision, liberalisation of internal African trade and resolving numerous local conflicts. One notable topic was that of the migration of people from Africa across the Mediterranean Sea, which had thus far largely been ignored by African governments. In his speech, summit chairman Robert Mugabe also performed a clear about-turn on the post-colonial dialogue that blames Africa’s problems primarily on Europe, and called upon the African governments to become active and take responsibility. The summit was overshadowed by the unresolved arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the Sudanese President al-Bashir.

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• Topical Term - Europe from 2015/07/03
  Programme for the Luxemburg Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2015
  

  On 1 July 2015, Luxemburg assumed the Presidency of the Council of the EU (EU Council Presidency) for the second half of the year, taking over from Latvia. It thus continues the current presidency trio of Italy, Latvia and Luxemburg. The main aim of this presidency trio is to overcome the economic and financial crisis and stimulate growth in the Union. 

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• Topical Term from 2015/06/22
  The monetary, economic and social union of 1 July 1990 – a crucial step towards German unity
  

  The monetary, economic and social union which entered into force on 1 July 1990 was a key step towards German unity. This treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR saw the D-Mark introduced as the sole legal tender in the GDR, along with a social market economy. The GDR also took on the West German social and pensions system, as well as large portions of the West German legal system. This step was primarily based on political considerations that were given priority over economic and monetary concerns. In this respect, the exchange rate in particular remained a topic of debate during the currency conversion.

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• Topical Term - Europe from 2015/06/22
  Compliance of the ECB’s OMT programme with EU law – Ruling of the European Court of Justice in case C -62/14 (Gauweiler and Others) 
  

  On 6 September 2012, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a decision on a programme for outright monetary transactions (OMT). Concerns regarding the programme’s constitutionality, currently the subject of cases before the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht), focus primarily on how the ECB’s authority to take action under EU law is to be interpreted. The Federal Constitutional Court has therefore suspended proceedings and on 14 January 2014 for the first time submitted questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling in accordance with Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). On 16 June 2015, the CJEU ruled in case C-62/14 (Gauweiler and Others) that with the OMT programme, the ECB does not infringe upon either its monetary policy mandate or the prohibition of monetary budget financing under Article 123 of the TFEU.

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• Topical Term from 2015/06/08
  Sharing Economy
  

  The term “sharing economy” refers to very diverse ways of using goods collaboratively and innovative new ways of making available services. The aims of the shared economy are to ensure better use of existing capacities, reduce resource consumption and achieve more social contacts and cohesion in society. In place of the original initiatives, which were socially motivated/free of charge, the main focus today is generally on commercial platforms which make available goods and services in the field of transport and tourism  (“car sharing”, “Uber”, Airbnb”). Many stakeholders see the need to adapt existing laws, provisions and regulations.  

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• Topical Term from 2015/06/08
  Family tax relief and benefits: exemption of subsistence income from taxation through tax allowances or child benefit (Familienleistungsausgleich)
  

  The system of family tax relief and benefits, as defined in the Income Tax Act (EStG), refers to the exemption from taxation of a certain amount of income which is deemed to be subsistence level for a child. In line with a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, legislators are obliged to ensure that this amount is exempt from tax. This exemption can take the form of tax allowances or the payment of child benefit, depending on which is more advantageous for the taxable person concerned. The Federal Government informs the German Bundestag every two years of the level at which this tax-free subsistence income is to be calculated for children (as well as for adults). The current 10th report on subsistence income was published on 30 January 2015. The Federal Government has now presented a bill to adapt the tax allowances and raise child benefit accordingly.

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• Topical Term from 2015/05/21
  Twenty-five years ago: the Committees on German Unity in the Bundestag and the People’s Chamber
  

  In the spring and summer of 1990, two committees with the same name set up by the 10th People’s Chamber and the 11th German Bundestag, each with 39 members, met in order to help shape the reunification process at parliamentary level. They deliberated on the two state treaties and the election treaty, and drafted a resolution on the subject of guaranteeing Poland’s western border, the first joint parliamentary initiative.

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• Topical Term from 2015/05/13
  Light Pollution 
  

  People and day-active animals need the darkness for sleeping, astronomers for sky observations and glow-worm for reproduction. Even so, the darkness hardly exists in the area of cities. But, how much do we need the darkness? The United Nations (UNESCO) proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies. With it related, the protection of darkness against environmental pollution by light will bring into focus of general public. Interdisciplinary research fields, as ecology, chronobiology, economy, astronomy, cultural history and light technology, are required to develop technical solutions for reducing of light pollution and protecting the nature.

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• Topical Term from 2015/04/28
  ,,Solvency II": Reorganisation of insurance supervision from 1 January 2016
  

  Following more than a decade of planning, elaboration and preparation, a fundamentally reformed supervisory regime in EU insurance regulation will launch Europe-wide on 1 January 2016. The project named “Solvency II” bundles, modernises and unifies the content of thirteen (Re-) Insurance Directives and is intended to ensure the future viability of Europe’s insurance industry. The reform focusses on an enhanced protection of policyholders, the creation of a level playing field for the insurance sector in the European single market, and the establishment of widely harmonised and transnationally coordinated supervisory practices throughout Europe.

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• Topical Term from 2015/04/14
  "The death marches of the Armenian people": remembering 24.04.1915
  

  24 April 2015 marks the anniversary of the murder of up to 1.5 million Armenian men and women, along with members of other mostly Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire. Already described by international press and diplomacy in 1915 as a “crime against humanity”, the massacre is considered a genocide by many historians today. United Nations organs, the Council of Europe and the European Union, along with many countries, however, do not agree whether the term ‘genocide’ can be applied retroactively to the events. The involvement of political and military bodies of the German Reich in the deportations and expulsions are once again the focus of research, having already been the subject of a German Bundestag resolution in summer 2005. 

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• Topical Term from 2015/03/19
  Two-hundredth birthday of Otto von Bismarck
  
  

  Otto von Bismarck, who was born two hundred years ago, is viewed by many as one of the most important German statesmen of the 19th Century – due to his achievements concerning the unification of Germany in 1871, his successful foreign policy, as well as the decisive role he played in developing a modern, efficient administrative state and the establishment of a progressive social policy. Yet this shrewd strategist and power politician, who did not hesitate to  switch alliances and had no qualms about exacerbating social tensions and divisions, even to the extent of marginalising large swathes of society, remains today once of the most controversial figures in German politics.  

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• Topical Term from 2015/03/11
  25th anniversary of the only freely elected People’s Chamber of the GDR
  

  On 18 March 1990, the first free election of the GDR People’s Chamber heralded the peaceful transition of power to a parliamentary democracy. The Alliance for Germany (The Christian Democratic Union, German Socialist Union and Democratic Awakening) received the most votes, taking 48 percent. The SPD obtained 21.9 percent of the votes. This was viewed as a vote for a swift process of reunification. In the six months that followed, the 409 newly-elected Members ensured that the perspectives and interests of the East German population were considered and represented in all treaties and decisions regarding German reunification. 

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• Topical Term from 2015/02/19
  50 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel 
  

  The 12 May 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Israel, which remain close and friendly to this day. Bilateral cooperation between the two countries must always be viewed against the background of the mass murder of the European Jews (Shoah) by the National Socialists. This lends these relations a unique character. Key pillars of the cooperation are economy, culture and scientific research. Examples of collaboration are described and details provided of the various celebrations to mark the anniversary.

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• Factsheet from 2015/02/11
  Local authorities’ power to act and make decisions regarding the conclusion of free-trade agreements
  

  Against the backdrop of the feared negative impact of the TTIP free-trade agreement on local authority-level matters, local councils have also recently been following the negotiations to some extent. The issue of the reach of local authorities‘ power has been raised, as outlined in this factsheet, which makes reference to the relevant rulings by the Federal Constitutional Court (“Rastede ruling” ) and the Federal Administrative Court (“nuclear weapon-free zone” ruling). The author reaches the conclusion that under this ruling, political action relating to free-trade agreements does not represent “local affairs” within the meaning of Article 28 (2) sentence 1 of the Basic Law, and that such action thus lies outside of the local councils’ remit.

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• Topical Term from 2015/02/04
  Real estate transfer tax
  

  In the framework of the first reform of the federal system, it was decided that the revenue from real estate transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) should flow to the Länder. Initially, potential house buyers hoped that competition amongst the states might make acquisition cheaper in the future. Since the real estate transfer tax is the form of taxation which generates the most revenue for states, however, it has since been used mainly as a tool for fiscal consolidation. The states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland raised their rates to 6.5% from 1 January 2015 onwards. Until 2006, a uniform rate of 3.5% applied in all federal states. This Topical Term provides an overview of the legal provisions (explaining what is exactly is taxed and what exceptions apply), as well as describing recent budget-policy developments. 

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• ???label.analysistype.Infobrief-Europa??? from 2015/02/03
  The right of residence for EU citizens from other Member States and their access to basic security benefits, with special reference to the legal situation in Germany 
  

  The social dimension of European integration is the subject of heated political and legal debate. The term “social citizenship” has been coined with reference to EU citizens. One aspect on which current discussions focus is the question of EU citizens from other countries accessing non-contributory social benefits in their country of residence. In Germany, the debate is centred particularly on the basic security benefits for job-seekers set out in Book Two of the German Social Code (Grundsicherung für Arbeitsuchende nach dem Sozialgesetzbuch II). This issue triggered renewed discussions following the expiry at the end of 2013 of the transitional arrangements postponing free movement of workers from Romania and Bulgaria, which had already acceded to the EU in 2007. The legal debate focuses amongst other things on the compatibility with EU law of the provisions of Article 7 (1), sentences 1 and 2, of Book Two of the Social Code, excluding economically inactive and job-seeking EU-citizens from outside Germany from receiving benefits. 

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• Topical Term from 2015/01/28
  Legislative action required following the judgement by the Federal Constitutional Court on inheritance tax
  

  In its judgement of 17 December 2014, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the extensive privileged treatment under inheritance tax law of the transfer of business assets is partially unconstitutional and declared the norms in place as incompatible with the principle of equality. At the same time, the court ruled that these norms would remain applicable for a limited time and obliged the legislator to present new provisions within a specified period of time.

  This Topical Term explains the recent ruling and provides an overview of the aspects to be corrected by the legislator.

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• Topical Term - Europe from 2015/01/28
  Compliance of the ECB’s OMT programme with EU law – 
  Opinion of Advocate General in Case C-62/14 (Gauweiler and Others)
  
  

  In a press release on 6 September 2012, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a decision on a programme for Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT). Concerns regarding the programme’s constitutionality, currently the subject of cases before the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG), focus primarily on how the ECB’s authority to take action under EU law is to be interpreted. The Federal Constitutional Court has therefore suspended proceedings and on 14 January 2014 for the first time submitted questions of EU law to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling in accordance with Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The Advocate General presented his opinion in Case C-62/14 (Gauweiler and Others) to the CJEU on 14 January 2015. According to this opinion, the ECB’s OMT programme does not, under certain conditions, infringe either the ECB’s monetary policy mandate or the prohibition of monetary financing under Article 123 of the TFEU.

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• Topical Term - Europe from 2015/01/13
  Programme of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2015
  

  On 1 January 2015, Latvia assumed the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first half of 2015 for the first time since the country’s accession to the EU in 2004. It thus continues the presidency trio of Italy, Latvia and Luxemburg. In its programme for the next six months, the Latvian presidency has identified three areas for action as the focus of its future work: a) competitiveness and growth in the EU b) harnessing the digital potential for European development and c) strengthening the role of the EU as a global player. 

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• Topical Term from 2015/01/09
  Timeline of Islamist terror attacks in Europe since 2004
  

  The timeline lists attacks with an Islamist background that were carried out or failed in the past decade in Europe.

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• Topical Term from 2015/01/07
  “Fiscal drag”
  

  Recently, fiscal drag has moved with renewed frequency to the forefront of public debate. This Topical Term explains the origins of the fiscal drag effect on the basis of taxation regulations. Furthermore, the financial impact is quantified. Finally, an overview is provided of reform proposals by experts and the parties which are intended to mitigate or bring to a stop the effects of fiscal drag. 

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• Factsheet from 2014/12/04
  Historical anniversaries and days of remembrance – selection for 2015
  

  This factsheet presents a selection of major anniversaries being celebrated in 2015, together with important days of remembrance. It encompasses major events in the history of German parliamentarianism and the German Bundestag, along with major events in German 19th and 20th century history. The factsheet is intended to inform and support the work of the Members of the German Bundestag and its bodies, but is also addressed to interested members of the public beyond the German Bundestag.

  PDF file (816 KB)