German lawmakers back reform to shield top court from political influence

By Madeline Chambers

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's lower house of parliament approved legislation on Thursday to safeguard the top court from political interference, a response to concerns about possible attempts by populist parties to weaken the body.

The legislation has been rushed through the Bundestag lower house before February's snap election following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the government supported the cross-party initiative to prevent what she called "enemies of democracy" breaching a central pillar of the rule of law.

"When we look abroad we see that when autocrats come to power, they are almost always the first to turn against the effectiveness and independence of the judiciary," she told the Bundestag.

The legislation was backed by the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, Free Democrats (FDP) and conservative CDU/CSU. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), second in most opinion polls, has opposed the plans.

AfD lawmakers argue there is no need to change the rules and say they have no plans to change the judicial system themselves. AfD lawmaker Stephan Brandner described the reform as a "cartel of the old parties".

The law enshrines the structure of the Constitutional Court, widely seen as a bastion of democracy in post-war Germany, in the Basic Law, including the size of the 16-judge court, the judges' 12-year term and mandatory retirement age of 68.

Any future changes will require a two thirds majority in both houses of parliament rather than a simple majority.

The package also creates a mechanism to elect judges to the court if there is an impasse in parliament, which is responsible for their appointment.

Based in Karlsruhe in southern Germany, the Constitutional Court was established after World War Two to help protect democracy. Over the years it has ruled on a wide range of laws, from euro zone rescue packages and budgets to privacy issues and bans on political parties.

Concern over moves to limit judicial independence in Hungary led the European Union to suspend billions of euros in budget payments to Budapest. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban rejects criticism he is eroding the rule of law.

Similar proceedings against Poland for meddling in the rule of law were suspended after the right-populist PiS government was voted out of office in 2023.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the move. "We are protecting the Constitutional Court against political interference by extremists and populists," he posted on X.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Rachel More and Alison Williams)