ABSTRACT
At the apex of the German system lies the federal level or Bund (see Figure 4.3). The federal legislative branch comprises two deliberative chambers, the Bundestag (the lower house) and the Bundesrat (the upper house). The 645 members of the Bundestag are elected by universal suffrage through a combination of first past the post and the d’Hondt list system of proportional representation (50% by each method). This is the primary legislative chamber of the federation. It is this chamber which elects and holds the federal executive to account. The second chamber or Bundesrat is sometimes referred to in English as the ‘council of states’ or ‘federal council’. This chamber comprises members of the Länder governments and as such is unique in Europe. Overseeing the Federal Republic and its constitution is the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht or BVerfG). The judges are elected by two electoral colleges comprising the Bundesrat and a committee of Bundestag members, and are appointed for non-renewable terms of 12 years.
