The Bundesrat (" federal council ", performing the function of an upper house ) is the representation of the Federal States ( Bundesländer ) of Germany and has its seat at the former Prussian House of Lords.

The chairperson or speaker is the President of the Bundesrat (" Bundesratspräsident "), who is 4th in the German order of precedence after the Federal President, the President of the Bundestag, the Chancellor and before the President of the Federal Constitutional Court.

A join committee (" Gemeinsamer Ausschuss ") comprises members of both Bundestag ( two thirds ) and Bundesrat ( one third ).

Lex Kampl Passiert Bundesrat ( in German ) (" Lex Kampl Passes Bundesrat ").

In addition the Bundesrechnungshof submits an annual report (" Observations ") to both Houses of the German Parliament, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, as well as to the Federal Government.

In 1902, the German parliamentary upper house (" Bundesrat ") made his rules for orthography mandatory in official state documents.

Bundesrat means federal council and may refer to:

Executive power is vested in the Federal Cabinet ( Bundesregierung ), and federal legislative power is vested in the Bundestag ( the parliament of Germany ) and the Bundesrat ( the representative body of the Länder, Germany's regional states ).

The Bundestag is more powerful than the Bundesrat and only needs the latter's consent for proposed legislation related to revenue shared by the federal and state governments, and the imposition of responsibilities on the states.

In practice, this means that the agreement of the Bundesrat in the legislative process is very often required, as federal legislation often has to be executed by state or local agencies.

Legislation also required the consent of the Bundesrat, the federal council of deputies from the states.

As a federal country, Germany is divided into a number of states ( Länder in German ), which used to have wide powers, but whose main remaining power today ( 2004 ) is their ability to veto federal laws through their Bundesrat representation.

The legislative branch is represented by the Bundestag, elected directly through a mixture of proportional representation and direct mandates, with the German Länder participating in legislation through the Bundesrat, reflecting Germany's federal structure.

The Bundesrat represents the Länder (~ States ) and participates in federal legislation.

The members of the Bundesrat, elected by the provincial diets ( Landtage ) of the nine federal States of Austria, are known as Mitglieder des Bundesrats.

The 16 federal States of Germany ( Länder ) are represented by the Bundesrat at the former Prussian House of Lords, whose members are representatives of the respective Länder's governments and not directly elected by the people.

In the German, Indian, and Pakistani systems, the upper houses ( the Bundesrat, the Rajya Sabha, and the Pakistani Senate respectively ) are even more closely linked with the federal system, being appointed or elected directly by the governments or legislatures of each German Bundesland, Indian State, or Pakistani Province.

Schaumburg-Lippe sent one member to the Bundesrat ( federal council ) and one deputy to the Reichstag.

The German Bundesrat ( literally " Federal Council "; ) is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder ( federal states ) of Germany at the federal level.

The federal government must present all its legislative initiatives first to the Bundesrat ; only thereafter can a proposal be passed to the Bundestag.

Further, the Bundesrat must approve all legislation affecting policy areas for which the Basic Law grants the Länder concurrent powers and for which the Länder must administer federal regulations.

In 1949, only 10 percent of all federal laws, namely, those directly affecting the Länder, required Bundesrat approval.

The formal representation of the states in the federal government through the Bundesrat provides an obvious forum for the coordination of policy between the states and the federal government.

Another important organ was the Bundesrat, the ' federal council ' of the representatives of the allied governments.

On September 7, 1949 he was elected as the first president of the federal Bundesrat of Germany.

He was also the head of the " Vermittlungsausschuss " ( negotiations-committee ) which resolves conflicts concerning legislation between " Bundesrat " and " Bundestag ", the two houses of the German parliament at the federal level.

If, in a state of defence, the Bundestag ( parliament ) can not convene, its functions and those of the Bundesrat ( federal council ) are taken over by a Joint Committee.

According to the constitution, head of state was the King of Prussia as the president of the Bundesrat, the council of representatives of the German states.

He now entered the service of the Grand-duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and remained at the head of the grand-ducal government until 1867, when he became plenipotentiary for the two Mecklenburg duchies in the council of the German Confederation ( Bundesrat ), where he distinguished himself by his successful defence of the medieval constitution of the duchies against Liberal attacks.

In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house.

Together with the Bundesrat, the Bundestag is the legislative branch of the German political system.

Federal legislative power is divided between the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.

The Bundestag is directly elected by the German people, whilst the Bundesrat represents the regional states ( Länder ).

In the event of disagreement between the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, a conciliation committee is formed to find a compromise.

On taking office the president must take the following oath, stipulated by Article 56 of the Basic Law, before the assembled members of the Bundestag and Bundesrat ( however he or she is permitted to omit the religious references if so desired ):

If the Bundestag rejects a motion of confidence, but neither a new chancellor is elected nor the Bundestag is dissolved, the president may, by request of the cabinet, declare a " legislative state of emergency ", which is quite different from a conventional state of emergency: If it is declared, during a limited period of time, bills proposed by the cabinet and designated as " urgent ", but rejected by the Bundestag, become law nonetheless, if the Bundesrat does pass them.

If the president is outside of the country, or the position is vacant, the President of the Bundesrat ( a position that is rotated among the state premiers on an annual basis ) temporarily assumes the powers of the president until a successor is elected without assuming the office of president as such.

While the president is abroad on a state visit the President of the Bundesrat does not assume all of his responsibilities but may deputise for the president, performing on the president's behalf merely those tasks that require his or her physical presence, such as the signing of documents.

The only mechanism for removing the president is impeachment by the Bundestag or Bundesrat for willfully violating German law.

The Bundesrat participates in legislation, alongside of the Bundestag, the directly elected representation of the people of Germany, with laws affecting state competences and all constitutional changes requiring the consent of the body.

In March 2010, the Senate of Berlin announced its intention to introduce a same-sex marriage bill in the Bundesrat, the federal representation of the German states.

In June 2011, the Senate of Hamburg, following CDU losses in state elections around the country, also announced its intention to introduce a same-sex marriage bill in the Bundesrat, the federal representation of the German states.

After World War II, when the Federal Republic of Germany was founded the state's representation again was called Bundesrat and again became more powerful than the Reichsrat though not as powerful as the Bundesrat of the German Empire.