Facts - The Bundestag at a glance - Deutscher Bundestag

Study commissions
On the motion of a quarter of its Members,
the German Bundestag is bound to
appoint a study commission to prepare
decisions on wide-ranging and significant
issues. Study commissions comprise
Members of the Bundestag and
external experts. They submit reports
and recommendations to the Bundestag.
Petitions Committee
By means of petitions, anyone in Germany
can influence public policies or
the organisation of social interaction.
Petitions provide everyone in the Federal
Republic of Germany with a means
of direct recourse to Parliament. The
right of petition is a fundamental right
that has been enshrined in the Basic
Law since 1949. Requests or complaints
to the Bundestag are dealt with by the
Petitions Committee, which examines
and discusses the petitions. In this way,
the members of the Petitions Committee
learn at first hand how legislation
affects ordinary people. Among the options
open to the Committee is referral
of a petition to the Federal Government
for action, consideration or information.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for
the Armed Forces
Every member of the armed forces is free
to address complaints direct to the Parliamentary
Commissioner for the Armed
Forces without going through service
channels. As a rule, the Commissioner
always acts upon learning of circumstances
that seem to indicate a breach of
the fundamental rights of military personnel.
The Commissioner investigates
particular occurrences on the instructions
of the Bundestag or its Defence
Committee or acts on his own initiative.
In this way, the Commissioner for the
Armed Forces functions as an auxiliary
organ of the Bundestag for the purpose
of parliamentary oversight of the armed
forces. The Commissioner reports to the
Bundestag once a year on the results of
his work.
Bundestag President Norbert
Lammert (CDU/CSU) swearing in
Hellmut Königshaus as Parliamentary
Commissioner for the Armed
Forces
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