Federal Constitutional Court (archive), via dts news agency
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Berlin (dts news agency) – The former President of the Federal Constitutional Court, Hans-Jürgen Papier, wants to better protect the Federal Constitutional Court from enemies of democracy and is therefore calling for expansions in the Basic Law. “That would be important to clearly protect the Federal Constitutional Court and to better secure the independence of this body from the executive,” he told the “Rheinische Post”.
It should be clear, says Papier, that the court, as a constitutional body of the federal government, should be viewed on an equal footing with the four other constitutional bodies. Specifically, he advocated that paragraph 1 of the Federal Constitutional Court Act should be anchored in the constitution. The paragraph declares the autonomy and independence of the court.
Other aspects that, according to the paper, belong in the Basic Law are the regulations on the necessary two-thirds majority for the election of judges and their limited term of office of twelve years. “Such a regulation would ensure that judges cannot be appointed with simple majorities and the term of office can be shortened or ended prematurely,” said the constitutional lawyer. That is “the least that one should demand”.
Meanwhile, Papier was critical of a petition that calls for the withdrawal of basic rights according to Article 18 in the Basic Law for the AfD politician Björn Höcke. “It is controversial in the literature whether the active and passive right to vote, and above all the eligibility, can be revoked at all,” he said. Paper would also “advise caution in initiating such proceedings in Karlsruhe” because of many unresolved questions. The relationship between the benefits and burdens associated with this would be “questionable,” said the former constitutional judge.
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