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The Comparison of Legislature Between France and Germany

Article · December 2014

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 Sultan Qaboos University
College of Economic and Political Science

The Comparison of Legislature Between France and Germany

By: Maryam Said AlKharusi

December,2014
Introduction

Legislature is one of the political power structures where it owns the authority in a
government. Legislature also described as parliaments, congresses or councils. There
are three main functions of legislature: enactment of legislation, representation of
constituents and oversee the executives and administration. Legislature types are
divided into unicameral and bicameral systems. In addition, Legislature can play a
critical role in the political system as both an Agent and a Principal. As an Agent, one
of the most fundamental tasks of Legislature is to link citizens to the government.
Also, Legislators are responsible for their constituents in their stead, ensuring that
the opinions, perspectives and values of citizens are present in the policy making
process.1 The plural characteristics moreover, Legislature can serve as an important
tool of compromise between opposing groups and interests within the society by
fostering debate and discussions between different stakeholders.
On the other hand, Legislature can be a very effective tool in serving as a Principal in
the political system. Legislature can play an important role is monitoring the
executive branch in ensuring proper oversight of both the budgetary implications of
policies and their implementation. This role can lead eventually to achieving
democracy in the political system. 2

In my essay, I will use Legislature as the concept to make a comparative analysis

between different political systems of Germany and France as an example. The
analysis will describe differences and similarities between the two countries from
Legislature point of view.

Main Body:
France and Germany are two of the most powerful nations in Europe and the world.
Both France and Germany are Republic states. France is a Presidential Country
where the president has the ultimate authority over the government. On the other
hand, Germany is known to be a Federal country where there are no sharp
separations between different levels of government and the Chancellor is the most
powerful authority in the government. Both countries have gone through different
situations through their history that contributed to the current formation of the
government and the shape of the legislature authority. During the Fifth Republics in
France (1958- Present) the constitution was amended from the Fourth redefining the
relationship between Legislature and Executive. Mainly to empower Executive over
Legislature. However, Legislature by its constitutional characteristic have the

Pitkin,1967
1
2
Caramani, Daniele. Comparative Politics.2014,pa.(114-120)
authority to fire the executive (Premier in France) by the Law of No Confidence.3 On
the other side, Germany's constitution was formed in 1990 when East and West
Germanys unified. The German political system also exhibits a balance of power
between the Executive and the Legislature.4 The German Chancellor is the head of
government and is usually the leader of the majority party in parliament or coalition.
Since the head of the executive is selected from parliament there is a balance of
power between parliament (i.e. Legislature) and the executive.5
Both France and Germany have Bicameral legislature branches, meaning that the
legislature is divided into two main legislative chambers. In France the Parliament is
the legislative branch of the government and is formed of The National Assembly
and The Senate. The main duty/ task of the Parliament is to involve the debate and
adoption of laws. In addition, oversees the government’s exercise of executive
authority, although this oversight capacity was restricted somewhat by the 1958
constitution (5th Parliament). In principle, the National Assembly and the Senate
share the same legislative power. However in reality, the power of legislation is titled
to the National Assembly as the Senate has the power to only delay the passage of
legislation. The National Assembly can overthrow the executive government (as
explained above). Hence, the government in France are necessarily to be in coalition
or from the major party in the Assembly. The Senate are also referred to as the
Agriculture chamber as it represents rural areas of the country.6 However, the
Senate sometimes can be an effective legislative body in terms of its ability to
provide a "sober second thought" to legislative proposals, especially to government
proposals.7 The National Assembly's Candidates are elected by majority vote in
single-member electoral districts for five-year terms through a two-round voting
system. The senate's members are elected for nine-year terms by an electoral
college. One-third of the Senate is elected every three years.8
On the other hand, in Germany, the legislature is divided into the Bundestag and the
Bundesrat. The Bundestag's members are chosen by the Council of Elders, but the
presiding officer is chosen leadership of the majority party and the elections held

3William G. Andrews, The Constitutional Prescription of Parliamentary Procedures in

Gaullist France, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Aug. 1978), pp. 465–506

4 Kesselman M. & Krieger et al (2009), Introduction to Comparative Politics (5th ed)

5 Kesselman M. & Krieger et al (2009), Introduction to Comparative Politics (5thed

6
Mahler, Gregory S. Principles of Comparative Politics,2013.p,244.pra, 2.
Mahler, Gregory S. Principles of Comparative Politics,2013.p,254.para,2.
7

8 Government, The Legislature. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.countriesquest.com/europe/france/government/the_legislature.htm ,
para,2.
every four years.9 Its members are around 670. One of the main functions of the
Bundestag is to asses and contribute to amending the government's legislative
program. Other legislative functions of the Bundestag's functions are selecting the
federal chancellor and exercising oversight of the executive branch. Most of
legislative activity occurs in this house. The Bundesrat's 69 members are appointed
by the lander (federal) government which are not popularly elected and they vote as
a bloc. That gives Germany a powerful protection against any federal encroachment
and that makes The Bundesrat one of the most important upper houses anywhere in
the world.10 The legislative authority of the Bundesrat is subordinate to that of the
Bundestag. The Bundesrat's role is to approve all legislations initiatives by the
government and pass them to the Bundestag. No legislative proposals can be
presented to the Bunderstag without an approval from the Bundesrat.

The National Assembly in France is equivalent to the Bundestag in Germany.

However, the Bundestag poses more legislative authority than the National
Assembly whom which legislative authority was greatly restricted in the Fifth
Republic. On the other hand, the Senate in France is equivalent to the Bundesrat in
Germany. But, the latter is very powerful in terms of legislative decision making
unlike the Senate which got significant role in legislative process restricted to certain
issues such as Agriculture.

When comparing the power of executive against legislature in France and Germany,
it is obvious that the executive in France has got more power than the legislature as
per the amendments in the constitution in the Fifth Republic. Though the legislature
in France has the right to fire the executive, it's authority is very restricted and its
contribution is limited to a particular extent. The President of France has the
authority to dissolve the Parliament and issue orders to form a new one. The
formation of fifth republic worked to increase the presidential powers so as to
reduce interference in the functioning of the executive. The Fifth republic is termed
as a semi presidential system. It allows fusion of powers between the executive and
the legislature.11On the other hand, there is a sort of balance between the executive
and legislature in the German political system. The job of the Bundestag is to choose
its leader; once this is accomplished, it is expected that the Bundestag will permit
itself to be led by the government. Since the head of the executive is chosen by the
legislature, this creates a balance between the two political branches.

9Magstadt, Thomas M. Understanding Politics: Ideas, Institutions, and Issues.

P,189.para,3.
Magstadt, Thomas M. Understanding Politics: Ideas, Institutions, and Issues.
10

P,189.para6.
11Kesselman M. & Krieger et al (2009), Introduction to Comparative Politics (5th Ed(
Presence and level of power of legislature in a political system- in addition to other
factors- defines the type of Democracy. France and Germany have different
approaches and levels of legislatures authority, hence two different types of
democracy. The French political system combines both characteristics of
Majoritarian and Consensual democracies12. In France, the executive is more
powerful than the legislature; and this is a characteristic of a majoritarian
democracy. However, as mentioned above, the French legislature is made up of two
chambers; the National Assembly and the Senate. This is a main characteristic of
consensual democracy. On the other hand, Germany has a clear form of consensual
democracy. Unlike France, there is a balance between executive and legislature and
this is a characteristic of consensual democracy. Another characteristic of consensual
democracy is the parliament is divided into two chambers (Bundestag and
Bundesrat). Finally, A key characteristic that gives Germany the feature of
consensual government is existence of a Federal structure of government.13

Strong legislature and strong democracy will spread stability in all state's territory.
France is one of the perfect instances in how legislature creates stability. Though the
Fifth Republic of France weakened legislature power, however the legislature in the
constitution enacted strong legislation that has reflected on the country's stability.
On the other side, the legislature in Germany worked on uniting both West and East
Germanys and reduce the conflict between them leading to the nations stability and
strengthening its powers.

Conclusion:
Legislature is fundamental for any nation. It is a powerful weapon in political system.
It defines the power of state. It explains how political system is working and its
structures. Moreover, it is a key term in explaining democracy in the state. Add to
that, legislature is the balance of stability in the state.
France and Germany are two of the most successful, powerful and stable countries
in Europe and the world. They have different political systems. The legislature plays
different role in each country that reflect on democracy and stability. Moreover, it

12Consensual democracy refer to a political system whereby the decision making structure
incorporate as many opinions and views as possible (consensus decision making) (Wilson,
2001). Majoritarian democracy refers to a political system that asserts a certain degree of
primacy to the majority group of people in a given society.

13
French and German Political Systems. Retrieved from
http://www.businesscustomwriting.com/our-samples-/553-french-and-german-
political-systems.pdf
 contributes in amendment and enacting laws. The relation between legislature and
executive authority create the system's power.

Reference:

Caramani, Daniele. Comparative Politics. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2014.

French and German Political Systems.(n.d). Retrieved from

http://www.businesscustomwriting.com/our-samples-/553-french-and-german-
political-systems.pdf

Government, The Legislature. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.countriesquest.com/europe/france/government/the_legislature.htm

Germany - The Legislature. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://countrystudies.us/germany/154.htm

Kesselman M. & Krieger et al ,Introduction to Comparative Politics (5th Ed),

Houghton Mifflin,2009.

Lijphart A. Patterns of Democracy, Yale University Press: New Haven,1999.

Magstadt, Thomas M. Understanding Politics: Ideas, Institutions, and Issues. 9th ed.
Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011.

Mahler, Gregory S. Principles of Comparative Politics. Boston: Pearson, 2013.

Stoner, Kathryn. Transitions to Democracy: A Comparative Perspective. Baltimore:

Johns Hopkins UP, 2013.

Wilson F. Concepts and Issues in Comparative Politics (2nd ed.), Prentice Hall,2001.

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