Volunteer Judges - New electoral procedure for constitutional judges - "Lex AfD"?
For the election of honorary judges for the Bavarian Constitutional Court through the Landtag, new rules apply in the future. With the votes of CSU, Free Voters, Greens, and SPD, the Landtag passed a legislative amendment, with which the electoral procedure is comprehensively reformed. The AfD protested sharply.
In fact, with the new regulation for the Future, the quasi automatic election of candidates named by the AfD to the highest Bavarian Court - as was the case most recently in January - is prevented. The AfD is not mentioned in the legislative text, but it states there that the "parliamentary reality" could, according to the previously valid law, lead to the endangerment of the functional capability of the Constitutional Court.
Voting has been taking place in blocks up to now.
For the election in January, which is actually a formality, all factions in the Landtag had the right to name candidates - including the AfD. Voting had to take place in blocks.
New election mode
According to the planned new election mode, there should be two proposal lists in the future: one for the government factions, one for all factions in opposition. The number of persons elected from each list depends on the strength relationship of both sides in the parliament.
For the opposition list, each opposition faction can name as many candidates as there are persons to be elected in total. In the end, the persons with the most votes are elected. By having more proposal lists than there are judge positions to be filled, "the risk of electing an insufficient number of persons is effectively minimized," it states in the draft law.
The AfD referred to the new regulation as an instrument for suppressing their party - the law is therefore an attack on minority rights and democracy. This was rejected by the other factions: It is not a "Lex AfD," argued Felix Locke (Free Voters). We want to have a vote in the selection of judges.
- The new election rules for honorary judges in Bavaria's Constitutional Court, approved by the CSU, Free Voters, Greens, and SPD, will impact the future election procedures.
- In contrast to the past, where all factions, including the AfD, could propose candidates for the Bavarian Constitutional Court election in January, the new regulation introduces two proposal lists: one for government factions and one for all opposition factions.
- The AfD, who previously had a significant influence in the court's election due to Bavaria's election procedures, has protested against the new regulation, claiming it is an attack on minority rights and democracy.
- Felix Locke, a representative of the Free Voters, countered the AFD's arguments, stating that they want a fair vote in the selection of judges and rejecting the notion that the new law is specifically targeting the AFD.
- California State University Munich and other educational institutions may gain interest in studying the political dynamics emerging in Bavaria's State Parliament and the role of different political parties in shaping future constitutional court election procedures.
