German federalism

E530101

German federalism is the political system in which power is constitutionally shared between Germany’s federal government and its sixteen states (Länder), each with its own responsibilities and representation at the national level.

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (92)

Predicate Object
instanceOf constitutional structure
federal political system
governance system
administrationPrimarilyBy Länder
aimsToPrevent excessive centralization of power
aimsToProtect minority interests
regional autonomy
basedOnDocument Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
concurrentCompetenceArea civil law
criminal law
public health
social welfare
taxation
constitutionalAmendmentMajority two-thirds majority in Bundestag and Bundesrat
constitutionalCourtRole arbitrates federal-Länder disputes
constitutionalPrinciple democracy
federalism
republicanism
rule of law
separation of powers
social state principle
country Germany
divisionOfPowers concurrent powers
exclusive Länder powers
exclusive federal powers
educationPolicyLevel Länder
emergencyPowersEffect temporary strengthening of federal authority
emergencyPowersRegulatedBy Basic Law
EUContext Länder have offices in Brussels
Länder participate in EU affairs via Bundesrat
exclusiveFederalCompetenceArea currency
defence
federal railways
foreign affairs
exclusiveLänderCompetenceArea cultural affairs
education
local government
police (except federal police)
federalGovernmentSeat Berlin
federalLawsImplementedBy Länder authorities
federalSystemType cooperative federalism
fiscalEqualizationBetween poorer Länder
wealthier Länder
guarantees existence of Länder in constitution
hasComponent Bundesrat
Bundestag
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
Länder
federal government of Germany
hasCooperativeBodies Conference of Minister Presidents
Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs
hasFinancialMechanism fiscal equalization (Länderfinanzausgleich)
hasLegislativeBody Bundesrat
Bundestag
historicalPrecedent Weimar Republic federal structure
federalism in the German Empire
judiciaryOrganizationLevel Länder (with federal courts)
limitsOnChange federal structure cannot be abolished by amendment
lowerHouseName Bundestag
LänderRepresentationBasis population-weighted votes
LänderRepresentedIn Bundesrat
numberOfStates 16
originatedInYear 1949
originatedWith Basic Law of 1949
policeOrganizationLevel Länder
postWarInfluence Allied occupation powers
powerSharedBetween Länder
federal government
relatedConcept Bundesrat veto powers
German Basic Law
Länder autonomy
cooperative federalism in Germany
requiresLänderParticipationFor constitutional amendments
many federal laws
state Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria
Berlin
Brandenburg
Bremen
Hamburg
Hesse
Lower Saxony
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
North Rhine-Westphalia
Rhineland-Palatinate
Saarland
Saxony
Saxony-Anhalt
Schleswig-Holstein
Thuringia
upperHouseName Bundesrat
upperHouseRepresents Länder

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Bundesrat building, Berlin imageDepicts German federalism
constitution of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern partOf German federal constitutional order
linked to: German federalism
state government of Saarland partOf federal system of Germany
linked to: German federalism
Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek operator German Federal Government and federal states (Länder)
linked to: German federalism