President of Germany - Reserve Powers

Reserve Powers

Some argue that the Basic Law does not require that the president follow government directives in all circumstances. It is suggested, for instance, that the president could refuse to sign legislation merely because he disagrees with its content, thus vetoing it, or refuse to approve a cabinet appointment. Because no president has ever attempted to take either of these actions the constitutionality of these points has never been tested.

In the few cases in which a bill was not signed, all presidents have claimed that the bill in question was manifestly unconstitutional. In the autumn of 2006, President Köhler did so twice within three months. Also, in some cases, a president has signed a law while asking that the political parties refer the case to the Federal Constitutional Court in order to test the law's constitutionality. The most recent case of such an occurrence was the controversial passing of an immigration law in the Bundesrat in 2002, when the delegates of Brandenburg failed to come up with the unanimous vote that the Basic Law requires of each Land's delegation in the Bundesrat. This law was ultimately declared invalid by the court for reasons of procedure.