SECTION I. The Reichstag

THE REICHSTAG

The Reichstag already existed under the régime of 1871. But its powers have become much more extensive, for it is now the principal representative of the people, from whom sovereignty is derived. It is the principal holder of popular sovereignty. In conformance with the principles of parliamentary government, it enacts laws and controls the Cabinet. The regulations that determine its composition and which specify its powers should, therefore, be such as to permit it to fulfil completely its double rôle.

1.--THE PRIVILEGES AND GUARANTEES ACCORDED TO THE REICHSTAG.

The Reichstag, charged with the expression of the will of the sovereign people, must be able to manifest this will freely. Charged with the control of the Cabinet it must be protected against all possible counterventions of the latter. To this end the Constitution contains a number of provisions which give to the Reichstag as a body, as well as to its members as individuals, a group of guarantees designed to insure for them complete independence of the Cabinet.

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(1) The Reichstag considered as a whole possesses a certain number of privileges and guarantees, much more numerous than those which were allowed the former Reichstag and analogous to those which in general the parliaments in other free countries possess. To this end the German Constitution contains several special features.

It is known that the right of political assemblies to pass on the eligibility of their members and the regularity of their elections constitutes one of their traditional prerogatives, one to which they have most strongly adhered. For they have seen in it a weapon against executive power to be used in cases where the latter is tempted to abuse its authority and exercise pressure on elections. Also most of the democratic countries confer upon their Chambers the right to investigate the election of their members and to decide in sovereign fashion on the validity of these elections. Such is the rule particularly in France; such was the rule in Germany up to 1919. But the new Constitution abandons this tradition in the sense that instead of leaving election disputes to the Reichstag itself, it entrusts them to a special tribunal working alongside of the Reichstag: the Electoral Commission (Wahlprüfungsgericht). This device, however, was not inspired by any desire to limit the rights of the Reichstag. It was dictated by political considerations. The former Reichstag, when it verified the election of its members, instead of being inspired solely by legal motives often let itself be guided by political considerations. The verification of elections is in itself an act of adjudication, and a political assembly is ill-prepared to fulfil such a function. That is why the English Parliament has already entrusted the function of judging of elections of its members to a separate tribunal. Without going as far as that, the new German Constitution refers contestants to a mixed tribunal, in which there are both members of the Reichstag, and, in order to insure the impartial applications of legal provisions, judges by profession.

The Electoral Commission includes members of the Reichstag elected to it by the whole legislature, as well as members of the Administrative Tribunal; until the creation of this body these consist of members of the National Judicial Court or Reichsgericht. These are nominated by the President of the Reich on the motion of the President of the Commission. In order to become operative the Electoral Commission must be made up as follows: five judges, of whom three must be members of the Reichstag, and two magistrates. The procedure is presided over by a commissioner named by the President of the Reich. This commissioner is particularly charged with investigation. It is hoped in Germany that in consequence of the introduction of proportional representation, election contests will be less frequent than formerly and that adjudications of elections by this Commission will have less importance for the parties than in the past.

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Once elected and the elections verified, can the Reichstag freely meet and continue just as it pleases? In other words, can it be permanent, that is to say, has it the right itself to fix the date and the duration of its sessions? A double danger is here possible. To create a permanent assembly, would it not give to parliament a dangerous preponderance? But to give to the executive power unlimited right to call, adjourn, and prorogue parliament, would it not be to give a prerogative unacceptable to a democratic country and dangerous to the maintenance of its institutions?

Under the old régime, the Reichstag could not meet or commence its work without having been convoked by the Emperor and expressly opened by him. However, the Constitution provided, that the Reichstag must be convoked at least once every year. But the Emperor had the right to prorogue the assembly; and the latter had not the right to sit and continue its work against the wish of the Emperor. The Emperor’s right in this respect had but one limitation: the prorogation of the Reichstag could not extend beyond thirty days without the consent of the Assembly, and it could not be renewed during the same session. On the other hand, the Reichstag could not conclude its sessions without the consent of the Emperor. It could only interrupt its meetings.

The new Constitution gives the Reichstag the right to convoke itself and to meet of its own accord. It is the Reichstag which decides as to when it is to meet and how long its session is to continue. It is neither convoked nor adjourned by the President of the Reich. According to the Constitution of Weimar the Reichstag meets for the first time no later than the thirtieth day after elections. In addition it is required to meet every year on the first Wednesday in November at the seat of the government. The Reichstag also decides for itself the conclusion of its sessions and the day of its re-assembling. However, the President is bound in two cases to convoke the Reichstag at a time prior to the annual date fixed by the Constitution, or to the date fixed by the Reichstag for its re-assembling. Such situations are (a) when the President of the Reich, (b) when at least a third of the Members of the Reichstag, demand it.

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Independent as it is of the Cabinet, the Reichstag must be assured the power freely to deliberate without fear of riots and insurrections. Most governments have no special legislation in regard to this. They leave to the assembly, to which a special guard is assigned, the right to protect itself. Events, however, have demonstrated that in Berlin revolutionaries either of the extreme Left or of the extreme Right become, when they so desire, “masters of the street.” More efficacious measures had to be provided than prevail elsewhere. Accordingly a law was passed by the National Assembly, May 8, 1920, “for the protection of the Palace of the Reichstag and of the Landtag (State Assembly).” This law draws about these palaces a perimeter of protection, within the limits of which no armed troops may penetrate, and it also provides different measures to make these palaces an adequate shelter against any coup de main such as may come at any time from revolutionists.

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2. The Members of the Reichstag as individuals enjoy, like the Reichstag as a whole, privileges and guarantees such as are necessary to insure their independence. The situation accorded them in this respect is very analogous to that which other democratic countries assure the members of their popular legislatures. They receive compensation. They are “irresponsible and inviolable.”

2.--THE RULES OF THE REICHSTAG.

Protected against the Cabinet, against insurrections, and against individuals who have designs on their independence, the deputies of the Reichstag can and must organize themselves in such a way as to assure for their labours maximum efficiency. It is imperative that the majority shall be able to impose its will without thereby sacrificing the rights of the minority. To this effect Article 26 provides, “The National Assembly chooses its President, Vice-President, and its Secretaries. It regulates its own procedure.”

The National Assembly adopted the procedure of the old Reichstag and the new Reichstag seems to have continued it also.

Meanwhile a change of considerable importance has been adopted by the National Assembly. Theretofore the members of the Reichstag were divided by lot into bureaus, and these elected the committees. There are no longer any bureaus; and the essential machinery on which the functioning of the Assembly depends is the group or fraction, each of which consists of all the members of the Reichstag belonging to the same party.

According to the procedure of the Reichstag, no party can constitute such a fraction if it does not have at least fifteen members. To-day it is these groups that nominate the various committees of the Assembly on the basis of proportional representation. The group plays a rôle in Germany much more important than, for example, in France, because of the strict party discipline that prevails in these groups. For every new question brought before the Reichstag each group assembles its members, who discuss among themselves the attitude to take and the way in which the group as a whole is to vote. When the question is most important there are held interfractional meetings. At these meetings are called together either all the members of certain groups, or only trusted men or the chiefs of these groups. Sometimes two or more related groups deliberate in common; sometimes they are the groups of the majority parties. Thus, either in single groups or in common the various political factions decide in advance their line of actions; and when the matter comes up for deliberation in the Assembly, everything is already decided. The public meetings of the Assembly are only a kind of show, in the course of which a speaker for each party generally mounts the tribune to acquaint public opinion with the motives that have determined his group in taking such and such a stand. A certain amount of dramatic interest is thereby lost, but perhaps the element of surprise is replaced by more thoroughly considered and riper decision.

The vote is then proceeded to. Voting by proxy is not recognized. Only those present can take part in the vote, which is theoretically taken “sitting” and “rising.”

In case of doubt all the members are invited to leave the hall and then to reenter, those voting “yes” coming in by one door, those voting “no” by another. There can also be a vote by name, if fifty members demand it and if the Assembly so decides. In this case ballots of different colours are distributed among the members. These ballots bear the names of the deputies and one of the following: “yes,” “no,” or “I abstain.” At the moment of the vote the leaders of the various groups hold up their ballots above their heads, this movement being immediately followed by all the members of their groups. Then the ballots are given by those voting to the Secretaries, who place them in the ballot boxes. A supervision is maintained to prevent those present from voting for absent members. This procedure presents the triple advantage of giving to the abstaining vote its precise significance, of maintaining strict discipline within the groups and of preventing absent members from voting.

3.--THE DURATION OF THE POWERS OF THE REICHSTAG.

The question of the term for which the members of political assemblies should be elected is always a delicate one. It has given rise in Germany to much lively discussion in committee as well as in plenary sessions.

Under the Empire, the Reichstag was at first elected for three years. Since 1888 it has been elected for five years. Should this term be retained?

On the Left the Independents considered that the motive which had prompted the change in 1888, that is, the fear of too frequent elections, did not deserve consideration. They held that it was necessary to give the German people quickly the political education it lacks, and that frequent elections are the best means to employ. They declared that in a true democracy the people should be given the chance to make themselves heard as often as possible.

The Right replied that in all parliaments the first year that follows general elections is, so to say, lost because of the necessary labour of preparation; and because the old and the new members must become accustomed to working together before their efforts achieve appreciable efficiency.

Preuss added that the question to find out was whether parliamentarism was wanted or not. A parliament, said he, is inefficient to the extent that the term for which it is elected is short. In America the House of Representatives is, it is true, elected for two years, but it is not the centre of power and of parliamentary authority. The Senate has more authority than the House, and it is elected for six years. In addition there is no dissolution of parliament possible in America. If a period of two years is fixed and if in addition the right of dissolution admitted, which is in itself already a remedy against too protracted a term, the development of the parliamentary system would be rendered thereby extremely difficult.

Finally on the third reading of a bill the Assembly arrived at a medium term. The duration of power for members of the Reichstag was fixed at four years.

4.--THE POWERS OF THE REICHSTAG.

The Reichstag is the principal holder of popular sovereignty; as such it is the most important organ of the national representation. Its activity is manifested under different forms and, compared to the old Constitution, its limits have been greatly broadened. Although it is above all a legislative organ, it exercises also an unceasing action on the executive power.

I.--POWERS OF THE REICHSTAG AS PRINCIPAL HOLDER OF SOVEREIGNTY.

The Reichstag being the principal representative of the sovereign people, it naturally falls to it to speak whenever it is necessary in the national or international life of the state to translate or express the will of the people. That is the rôle which has devolved upon parliament in all the democratic countries, and it is also the mission confided to the Reichstag by the German Constitution. The situations in which this Assembly acts as spokesman for the people are of three kinds:

1. The granting of amnesty. Amnesty is a measure of a general character whereby the sovereign, with the object of general pacification, declares such and such crimes legally expiated. In the German Constitution amnesty has to be declared in the form of a law. The ordinary procedure for the enactment of law applies here.

2. Declaration of war and the conclusion of peace. These proclamations, in the same way, must be made in the forms of laws.

3. Treaties of alliance and international treaties. Each of these is theoretically concluded by the President of the Reich; but when these treaties touch questions which are regulated or can only be regulated by a law of the Reich, such settlements are not valid except with the consent of the National Assembly. (Article 45.) This hypothesis differs, therefore, from the first two just examined. In those cases there was required a law, that is to say, the Reichsrat had the right of protest, and the President could only prepare and execute the decision of the Reichstag, to the same extent that he is compelled to prepare other laws of the Reich. In the cases of treaties, however, what is required is a meeting of the wills of both the Reichstag and the President. This agreement is required even for the international validity of the treaty, but it is self-sufficient, and the Reichsrat would probably not have the right to protest against such a conclusion.

II.--LEGISLATIVE POWERS.

In contrast to the terms of the Constitution of 1871, which divided the right to legislate between the Bundesrat and the Reichstag but gave the preponderance to the former, the new Constitution gives to the Reichstag the principal rôle in legislative work. The right to legislate is expressly placed in its hands. “National laws are enacted by the National Assembly” (Article 68). But this fundamental right of the Reichstag is limited by important powers granted to the Reichsrat, to the President and to the people.

The principal co-operator with the Reichstag, from the point of view of legislation, is the Reichsrat. The Reich being, at least theoretically, a federal state, the Constitution grants to the Reichsrat, which “represents the German states in the legislation and administration of the Reich,” the right of important co-operation in legislative matters. But this right is not as extensive as that which the old Bundesrat had.

It consists first of all in this, that no bill can be submitted to the Reichstag unless it has been previously accepted by the Reichsrat. However, this provision does not constitute, as formerly, an absolute obstacle. When the Reichsrat disapproves of a bill which the Cabinet has submitted to it, this project may be, without the consent of the Reichsrat, nevertheless sent on to the Reichstag. The Cabinet is in such a case only obliged to set forth to the Reichstag, in presenting this bill, the dissent of the Reichsrat (Article 69).

The co-operation of the Reichsrat is manifested also in its right of protest against the laws enacted by the Reichstag. These laws must in theory be enacted with the express or tacit approval of the Reichsrat, but this provision is not absolute. If, in effect, after the protest of the Reichsrat, no accord is reached between this body and the Reichstag, it devolves upon the President of the Reich to decide whether the project of law will be abandoned by him, or whether he will resort to a referendum against the decision taken by the Reichsrat. If this bill gains the support at the Reichstag of a majority of two-thirds the President has then, in spite of the protest of the Reichsrat, the right to promulgate and to publish the law, without any further vote on it by the Reichstag. But he may also, instead of proceeding to this promulgation, order a referendum, if he does not want to take upon himself the responsibility of deciding this conflict of the Reichstag and the Reichsrat.

There are thus two ways of breaking the opposition of the Reichsrat: either the referendum, or else a two-thirds vote for the law on the part of the Reichstag and joined to it the approval of the President.

On the other hand, when this majority of two-thirds cannot be assembled in the Reichstag, there are two ways for the opposition in the Reichsrat to become effective. First, the President may remain passive after the protest of the Reichsrat, that is to say, he may not order the referendum. The co-operation of the Reichsrat and of the President in such case weighs more than the decision of the Reichstag which has not been able to rally a majority of two-thirds in its favour. The other way in which a protest of the Reichsrat can become effective is for the referendum to support the objection of the Reichsrat and reject the project voted by the Reichstag.

The power of the Reichstag to legislate is, in the second place, limited by powers assigned to the President in certain matters. He has the right to veto any law passed by the Reichstag, in the sense that, according to Article 73, he is not obliged to promulgate the laws voted, and may within a month submit it to a referendum. If the President is convinced that a bill voted by the Reichstag with the consent of the Reichsrat is against the welfare of the people; or if there are serious objection lodged against it of another character; or if he believes that the law does not correspond with the conceptions held by the people, his situation as an independent organ of popular sovereignty gives him the right and imposes on him the duty of submitting this project to a referendum. In addition, the Constitution (Article 72) authorizes him to disregard a demand on the part of a third of the Reichstag that the promulgation of a law passed by the Reichstag and approved by the Reichsrat be deferred. He can, therefore, promulgate the law voted and give it operative power when the Reichstag and the Reichsrat declare it to be urgent.

In the third place the legislative power of the Reichstag is limited by the right reserved by the people itself to decide, and in certain cases directly on this or that project of law. Such are the cases we have described as touching the Constitutional provisions for initiative and referendum.

We must finally note, as the fourth legislative factor, the Economic Council, whose powers, it is true, cannot be considered as constituting a limitation of the Reichstag’s powers, but which may nevertheless be called in to co-operate with the latter in the preparation of laws.

Such are the organs that participate in the legislative work. We must now see in what manner they function and how a law is passed through this intricate mechanism.

The initiation of a law can take place under any of the following conditions:

1. The Government of the Reich, that is to say, the Cabinet, has in the first instance, the initiation of laws. In theory the Cabinet is supposed to proceed with the consent of the Reichsrat; but in case this agreement is refused, the Cabinet may nevertheless submit the bill to the Reichstag together with a statement of its attitude. (Article 69.)

2. Members of the Reichstag may also introduce bills. (Article 68.)

3. The Reichsrat also has the right of initiation. In theory it is supposed to act on a bill in harmony with the Cabinet. But if the latter refuses its consent to a bill, the Reichsrat may still submit it to the Reichstag together with a statement of its point of view on it. (Article 69.)

4. The people themselves may initiate a proposal for a law. (Article 73.)

5. In matters of social and economic policy, finally, the National Economic Council has also the right to propose bills; but here, too, the agreement with these bills on the part of the Cabinet is required. If, however, the Cabinet refuses its consent to the bill, it must nevertheless present the proposition to the Reichstag at the same time presenting its opinion.

The law being proposed, how is it voted on and accepted? Here, again, several different kinds of situations must be distinguished:

1. The normal procedure is the vote on the bill by the Reichstag in agreement with the Reichsrat. The bill may be presented by the Cabinet, duly passed on by the Reichsrat in agreement and without change and accepted by the Reichstag as it stands. Or changes by the Reichsrat may be approved by the Reichstag. Or the Reichsrat may accept without a contest the changes voted by the Reichstag. Or, after a protest by the Reichsrat against a bill voted by the Reichstag, an agreement may be reached by the two assemblies after a reconsideration of the bill by the Reichstag.

2. If an agreement cannot be reached between the Reichstag and the Reichsrat, that is to say, if the Reichsrat having raised objection to a bill voted on by the Reichstag, a reconsideration by the latter has not brought about an agreement between the two bodies on the bill, the Cabinet may then follow another course. The President may decide that this agreement on the bill between the Reichstag and the Reichsrat being impossible, matters rest where they are; then the law does not become operative. If this solution does not commend itself to him, he may prescribe a referendum on the question that forms the conflict of opinion between the two assemblies and the law becomes operative when the referendum sanctions the decision of the Reichstag.

3. If, in the proceeding in case of a difference of opinion between the Reichstag and the Reichsrat, the Reichstag persists, after the protest of the Reichsrat, in its first decision and supports it with a majority of at least two-thirds of those voting, the President has the choice either of passing over the protest of the Reichsrat and promulgating the law, or else he may order a referendum. His decision must be made within three months after the decision of the Reichstag. In this case the law may become operative, either by the vote of the Reichstag together with the President’s favorable decision, or by the vote of the Reichstag together with the sanction by the referendum.

4. The President may, in the case of a bill passed by both the Reichstag and the Reichsrat in agreement, use his right of veto; that is to say, he need not promulgate the law but must refer it to a referendum. In that case the law does not become operative unless the referendum supports the vote of the Reichstag. If the referendum pronounces against it the law is definitely rejected. The Constitution does not say whether the President may, in such a case, propose a change in the bill and submit this change to another referendum. We must consequently conclude that he cannot do so.

5. If one-twentieth of the electors demand that a law already passed by the Reichstag shall be submitted to a referendum; and if, at the same time, at the demand of one-third of the Members of the Reichstag the promulgation of that law has been deferred, the latter cannot go into effect except after having been approved by a referendum. If the referendum pronounces against the bill, the latter is rejected. But this possibility does not exist in the case where both the Reichsrat and the Reichstag have declared a law to be urgent. The President may in such a case promulgate the law in spite of the demand for its postponement.

6. There remains finally the exceptional case in which a popular initiative by one-tenth of the electors proposes the project of a law. In such a case the law, if it is accepted by referendum, becomes operative, whether the bill has been passed without change by the Reichstag, or, with changes by it, or even in spite of the Reichstag’s rejection.

It is thus seen that a referendum is never resorted to, unless the Reichstag has first taken a vote on the subject. The decisions of the people appear, therefore, as a kind of control over, and check on, the Reichstag’s decisions.

The procedure just described is that followed for all ordinary laws.

In theory it holds also for constitutional laws, that is, laws which, according to the Constitution, must be enacted in the form of constitutional laws; but there are certain modifications in the procedure in such cases.

Under the old Constitution, changes in it could be brought about by the same means as ordinary laws. The new Constitution places constitutional law under special protection, and demands that a certain fixed majority be obtained for any change in the Constitution. Decisions of the Reichstag tending to such a change are not valid unless two-thirds of the legal number of members are present and of those present at least two-thirds vote for such change. In the same way decisions of the Reichsrat tending to a change of the Constitution must obtain a majority of two-thirds of all the votes cast in their favour.

The Constitution contains a special provision in case a constitutional change is to be realized on the initiative of the people. In such a case, at least one-half of the electors must approve of the change. This particular majority was introduced as a condition for the following reason; the situation had to be met in which the Reichstag rejects a constitutional change proposed by popular initiative. Against such a vote on the part of the Reichstag, which may not be in favour of the constitutional change proposed, the decision of the people in favour of the change, to become operative must be supported by at least half of the people. Where, however, the Reichstag votes in favour of a constitutional change it is enough for the referendum to secure a majority of those voting, provided that a majority of the electors have participated in the vote. Consequently if the Reichstag has voted a constitutional amendment by a vote of two-thirds and if this amendment has been submitted by the President to a referendum, it is sufficient to nullify the favourable vote by the Reichstag, if half of the electors of the Reich participate in the vote and the majority of those voting pronounce against the amendment. In other words, to effect a constitutional amendment by means of a referendum a simple majority is sufficient if the Reichstag has voted for such an amendment; but if the Reichstag’s approval is to be nullified in such a case a specified majority is required.

Another provision of the Constitution deals with the case where a divergence of opinion arises between the Reichstag and the Reichsrat on a constitutional matter. In general when the Reichstag, over the protest of the Reichsrat, maintains its stand by a majority of two-thirds, the President has the option either of promulgating the law voted by the Reichstag over the protest of the Reichsrat, or of prescribing a referendum. In the matter of a constitutional amendment, to strengthen the position of the Reichsrat, the President’s choice is limited. In such a case, if the Reichsrat demands a referendum the President cannot promulgate the law, even though it has been passed by two-thirds of the Reichstag. This demand must take place within two weeks of the passage of the bill by the Reichstag. If within that time, the Reichsrat has not made use of its right just described, the President recovers his right to choose between promulgation and referendum.

III.--POWER OF CONTROL.

In the parliamentary system, the parliament exercises an incessant control over the acts of the Cabinet, such control consisting of the responsibility of the ministers. How is this organized in Germany and in what manner is it actually exercised?

It must be noted first that the Constitution does not give control over the Cabinet to any but the Reichstag. It is to the Reichstag only that the Ministers are politically responsible. The other assemblies that the Constitution has created, in particular, the Reichsrat, have in this respect no power. On the other hand, the confidence of the Reichstag is absolutely indispensable to the Cabinet. If the Reichstag withdraws its confidence in a Ministry or in a Minister, especially if the Reichstag expresses its lack of confidence, the Ministry or the Minister must resign. (Article 54.) To give to the vote of the National Assembly a complete guarantee of execution the Constitution provides that the Reichstag may prosecute the President and the Cabinet before the National Judicial Court and demand that the people pronounce on the removal of the President. (Article 43.)

The means by which the Reichstag exercises its control over the Cabinet are, with some minor differences in procedure, the same in Germany as in most parliamentary governments.

The Reichstag may, first, demand the presence of the Chancellor or the Ministers at its meetings, whether in committee or in full session. The Chancellor, the Ministers, and the Commissioners have the right to be present at all the meetings of the Reichstag and its committees. The representatives of the Cabinet have the right to be heard on their own demand at the deliberations of the Reichstag even contrary to the order of the day. They are subject to the disciplinary power of the President.

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The members of the Reichstag may address questions to the Cabinet. The question must be addressed in writing, and if the author of it agrees, the Cabinet may respond to it in writing. On the other hand, it must not be taken up in public session of the Reichstag except on a Tuesday or Friday at the head of the order of business. It is then read by its author. The Minister interrogated or some one commissioned by the Cabinet replies. But no discussion or motion whatsoever may thereupon at once result on this reply. Only the author of the question may take the floor after the Minister, and then only to complete or to rectify his question. There is naturally no vote taken immediately after the question and it is not permitted to transform a question into an interpellation, as it may be done, for instance, in France.

The parliamentary question seems to play a much smaller rôle in Germany than in England or even in France, if one compares the German procedure on the written question with that of the French. During the first six months of its existence, the National Assembly addressed about 280 questions to the Cabinet, most of them in open session. Most of the Tuesday and Friday sessions commence with a series of questions; some of them with as many as fifteen to twenty questions.

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The Constitution does not say one word more on interpellations than on questions; but the first form an essential practice of a parliamentary régime. It existed to a lesser extent under the old régime. It was of necessity retained and developed under the new.

The interpellation must be signed by thirteen members. Thus it is no longer an individual who interpellates, but a party and the individual is only the spokesman for the party. When the interpellation is made the Cabinet declares either that it is ready to answer at once, or it fixes the date of its reply in agreement with the President of the Assembly. In theory this reply must be given within a fortnight. It goes without saying that, in contrast to what the Chancellor permitted himself under the Empire, the Chancellor and the Ministers of the Reich to-day do not use the right, still granted to them by the regulations, to refuse to reply to an interpellation or to refuse to name the date on which they would be disposed to reply.

The interpellation is inscribed on the order of business for the day among the other subjects on which the Assembly is to deliberate. The spokesman of the party who interpellates and the representative of the Cabinet having spoken, no discussion ensues unless at least fifty of the members present demand it. In such a case all those present may in turn take the floor. When all the speakers have finished those present declare the discussion closed and the assembly passes automatically and without vote to the next subject on the order of business.

However, the regulations provide that in the course of the discussion and interpellation motions signed at least by thirty members present may be presented demanding that the assembly declare that the position the Cabinet has taken on the affair which has been made the subject of the interpellation does or does not correspond to the opinions of the Reichstag. The vote is then proceeded to--unless at least thirty of the members present demand that the vote be postponed to the next session, such a postponement being their right.

In practice, however, little use is made of the above provision, and interpellations rarely end with a vote; for that would have for its purpose the ousting of a ministry or a minister. Such a change takes place, as we shall see, in circumstances entirely different. The interpellations, therefore, are used only to give the parties a chance to present their points of view on this or that problem raised by the political circumstances of the hour.

From this ensues a twofold consequence. First, interpellations are much fewer than in France. During the first six months of its existence the National Assembly discussed only about ten interpellations. Second, being rarely the direct cause of the ousting of Cabinets, they provoke less excitement in political circles and in public opinion, and the Assembly may therefore discuss the problem embodied in an interpellation perhaps more objectively.

The control by the Reichstag over the Cabinet may be exercised also by means of a parliamentary investigating committee. This is a novelty in German public law. In its first draft the project of the Constitution did not permit the institution of investigating committees except in cases where the sincerity or the legality of an act of the Cabinet is questioned. But the National Assembly has gone further than that and, with the exception of a case of actual lack of confidence in the Cabinet on the part of the Reichstag, the latter assumes the right without limitation of appointing investigating committees. These committees may, for example, be created to examine economic and other questions of importance.

The Reichstag must proceed to the appointment of an investigating committee if a fifth of its members demand it. The procedure according to which these committees may operate is not at all prescribed. The Constitution says only that such a committee may take such testimony in open session as it itself or the authors of the proposal of the investigation may consider necessary. But by a majority of two-thirds the committee may decide that the meetings shall not be public. Tribunals and administrative authorities are obliged to comply with the requests of these committees, with the view of developing evidence. The files of these authorities are, on demand, open to these committees.

The Reichstag nominates in addition two permanent committees. One of them is that on Foreign Affairs. Its purpose is to submit the foreign policies of the Cabinet to a constant surveillance by the popular representation. It may after the adjournment of the Reichstag, or when the powers of the Reichstag have expired, or after a dissolution of the Reichstag remain in power until the National Assembly has reconvened. Its meetings are theoretically not public. However, a majority of two-thirds may order that they be such. It has the same powers as an investigating committee.

During the deliberations on the project of the Constitution, serious objections were raised against the institution of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. It was claimed that this committee would in advance be an expression of lack of confidence in the Cabinet and as an organ of surveillance would exercise a particularly troublesome influence on foreign policies. To this the reply was, that in the countries in which there have been appointed committees on foreign affairs there has been no evidence of unfavorable results. In addition, this committee would not be in the first instance a committee of surveillance, but an organism which, in matters of foreign policy would bring the influence of politically experienced personalities of the Reichstag to bear on the professional agencies of the diplomatic service.

The second permanent committee provided by the Constitution has as its purpose the control of the activity of the Cabinet of the Reich when the Reichstag is not in session, between the last meeting of one Reichstag and the opening of a new one.

This committee, which is formed on the model of an institution already in existence before the Revolution in the Grand Duchy of Baden, is supposed, during the period which the Reichstag is not assembled, to safeguard the right of popular representation against the Cabinet of the Reich. It must see to it in a permanent fashion that administration is conducted in conformity with laws, with the decisions of the Reichstag, and the will of the people. It may not sit except when the Reichstag is not in session. It has also the powers of an investigating committee.

When the Constitution was being discussed, prior to its adoption, this committee, too, was the subject of much lively opposition. Some held that the Cabinet, so long as it enjoyed the confidence of the Reichstag, did not require a special organ of surveillance. This committee, its opponents went on, was only an application of the conception that assumed an opposition between the Cabinet and popular representation. It was incompatible, therefore, with the principle of parliamentarism that rests on a harmony of the Cabinet and the Parliament. But the majority of the National Assembly held, on the contrary, that this committee would correspond fully in character to the Reichstag as an organ of control, and would be consistent with the confidence and the good will on which the Cabinet depends.