Thank you Germany: Part 099: Political separation of powers is well organised in Germany

The separation of powers is also part of Germany's political culture. And it is very well organised in the political system of the Federal Republic of Germany. The founding fathers of the Basic Law and the Allies went to great lengths after the end of the Second World War to both democratise the country and provide sufficient space for lively political debate.

There is a separate institution for each area of political decision-making and these institutions monitor each other. On the one hand, there is the Bundestag as parliament and thus legislator. On the other hand, there are the courts and the Federal Constitutional Court. The latter ensures that laws are interpreted and that laws are enacted in a politically correct manner. This means that unconstitutional laws can be rejected by the Federal Constitutional Court. When a case is referred to it, it scrutinises the law to ensure that it complies with the constitution. Through this work, the Federal Constitutional Court monitors the legislation of the Bundestag.

The Federal Constitutional Court enjoys a higher political standing in Germany than almost any other institution. The German state has the police and a correspondingly large administrative apparatus at its disposal to issue decrees and enforce laws. The police in Germany have no military tasks. It is quite deliberately an institution designed to provide security on a more civilian level. This type of exercise of state power also distinguishes Germany from many other countries in the world. It ensures that although the police enforce the law, they do so with a sense of proportion and are not simply intent on using brute force. This characteristic of liberal democracy is an important quality of Germany. Even if the actions of the police and the enactment of new police laws have repeatedly led to heated political debate, the civilian nature of the German police force is a clear characteristic of this apparatus. It is not a military force within the country. We can be glad that Germany's political system is very conscious of checks and balances when making political decisions.

This system ensures that political changes take place by voting out a government rather than by a coup and also guarantees the implementation of laws that adhere to the basic rules of democracy, as set out in the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Basic Law has constitutional status in Germany - in all federal states. This means that, despite federalism, the provisions of the Basic Law always take precedence over the regulations of the individual federal states. This means that anyone in Germany can invoke the constitution and claim the rights that are guaranteed to them in the Basic Law.

The courts are independent of the political decision-makers when examining such complaints. Even those who do not favour the government or argue against its plans can count on a fair trial at all times. This option is not available in every country in the world. For people in Germany, it is now part of normality.