The Constitution of the German Empire was the basic law of the German Empire of 1871-1919. Formally it was the Constitution of the German Reich (Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), but it shared this title with the republican "Weimar constitution" that replaced it in 1919. Flag of the German Empire, 1871–1918: black-white-red ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... In a broad definition a republic is a state or country that is led by people who do not base their political power on any principle beyond the control of the people of that state or country. ... The Weimar Constitution in booklet form. ...

The constitution was effectively a treaty between its signatories, the North German Confederation and four southern German states, adding those states as members of the confederation, and giving the enlarged entity a new identity as the Deutsches Reich (conventionally translated as "German Empire").

The text of the constitution was based on that of the Constitution of the North German Confederation, which had likewise been instigated by Otto von Bismarck. Flag of North German Confederation, 1867-1871 The North German Confederation (in German, Norddeutscher Bund), came into existence in 1867, following the dissolution of the German Confederation. ... For alternative meanings: See Bismarck (disambiguation). ...

Signatories and members

The constitution was signed by the King of Prussia, acting in his capacity as President of the North German Confederation, the Kings of Bavaria and Württemberg, and the Grand Dukes of Baden and Hesse. Hesse north of the river Main was already a member of the North German Confederation; its territory south of the river was now included as well. The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa, German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad... The Free State of Bavaria  (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... Württemberg (often spelled Wurttemberg in English) refers to an area and a former state in Swabia, a region in south-western Germany. ... For other uses, see Baden (disambiguation). ... Hesse (German: Hessen) is one of Germanys sixteen federal states (Bundesländer) and has an area of 21,110 km² and just over six million inhabitants. ...

The members of the North German Confederation that now became members of the Empire were Prussia, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Saxe-Weimar, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, Brunswick, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Anhalt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Waldeck, Reuß (Older Line), Reuß (Younger Line), Schwarzburg-Lippe, Lippe, Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg. Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a Duchy (from 1815 a Grand Duchy) in northeastern Germany, formed by a partition of the Duchy of Mecklenburg. ... Saxe-Weimar (German Sachsen-Weimar) was a Duchy in Thuringia. ... Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in northern Germany, roughly consisting of the present day district of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (the historical Stargarder Land), bordering areas of modern-day Brandenburg with the town of Fürstenberg and the area around Ratzeburg in modern Schleswig-Holstein. ... Oldenburg (Low German: Ollnborg) is an Independent City in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... Brunswick-Lüneburg was an historical state within the Holy Roman Empire. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Saxe-Coburg-Gotha or Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (German: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) was once the name given to the two German duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha in Germany, in the present states of Bavaria and Thuringia, which were in personal union between 1826 and 1918. ... Anhalt is a historical region of Germany, which is now included in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. ... Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small state in Germany, in the present-day state of Thuringia, with capital at Rudolstadt. ... Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small state in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with capital at Sondershausen. ... Waldeck may mean the following: Locations the County, Principality, and Free State of Waldeck or Waldeck-Pyrmont in Germany, see Waldeck (state) the City of Waldeck in Waldeck-Frankenberg District, Hesse, Germany see Waldeck, Hesse the small municipality of Waldeck in Saale-Holzland District, Thuringia, Germany see Waldeck, Thuringia A... This article is about the district Lippe. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (official name; German: Freie Hansestadt Bremen) is a port city in northern Germany and one of its 16 Federal States (Bundesländer). ... The smaller Alster lake at dusk Hamburg (Low German: Hamborg, [haË‘mbɔːχ]) is the second largest city in Germany and with Hamburg Harbour, its principal port, Hamburg is also the second largest port city in the European Union. ...

The emperor

The King of Prussia was named in the constitution as the "President of the Confederation", and given the title of German Emperor (Deutscher Kaiser).

The emperor had the power to declare war (and peace), represent the Empire abroad, conclude treaties and alliances, and accredit and receive ambassadors.

In the case of a non-defensive war being declared, consent of the Bundesrat was required.

Both chambers of parliament had to approve a treaty for it to be ratified.

(all Article 11)

Other powers were:

• To convene the Bundesrat and the Reichstag (Article 12); the convocation of the Bundesrat was required to take place as soon as demanded by one-third of its members (Article 14).
• To prepare and publish Imperial laws (Article 17).
• To appoint Imperial officials (Article 18).

The federal parliament

Article 5 created a bicameral parliament, composed of the Bundesrat ("Federal Council") and the Reichstag ("Imperial Diet").

• The establishment of a bicameral parliament (Article 5), with its laws taking precedence over that of the individual states (Article 2).

Legislation could be enacted with the simple majority of both bodies (Article 5).

Article 13 required the annual convocation of both bodies. The Bundesrat could be called together for the preparation of business without the Reichstag, but not the converse.

The Bundesrat

The Bundesrat (Articles 6 & &) was made up of representatives of the various states. Each state was allocated a specified number of votes; although a state could appoint as many delegates to the Bundesrat as it had votes, each state was only able to block-vote. Each state had a different number of representatives, with the larger and more powerful states having more. Voting had to be in person.

Prussia had 17 votes; Bavaria, 6; Saxony and Württemberg had 4 each; Baden and Hesse, 3 votes each; Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Brunswick, 2 Votes; all the other states (17 in all) had one vote each; totalling 58.

In the case of legislation only affecting certain states, only those states were allowed to vote.

The Bundesrat's presiding officer had a vote in the event of a tie-break.

A representative could not be a member at the same time of both chambers (Article 9), and they were given Imperial protection (Article 10).

Permanent committees of the Bundesrat

The constitution established permanent committees (Article 8):

• The army, incl. fortifications
• Naval matters
• Duties and taxation
• Commerce and trade
• The railways, post, and telegraphs
• Justice
• Finance

At least four states had to be represented on each committee, excluding the chairman. Each state was only allowed one vote.

On the committee for the army and fortifications, Bavaria had a permanent seat. All that committee's members were appointed by the Emperor; members of all the other committees were elected by the Bundesrat.

Additionally, there was created a Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by Bavaria, with individual members representing Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemburg, and two other members representing the other states.

The Reichstag

Membership of the Reichstag was to by "universal suffrage", and by secret ballot (Article 20).

Transitional arrangements set the total number of deputies at 382, with 48 for Bavaria, 17 for Württemberg, 14 for Baden, and 6 for Hesse south of the river Main (Article 20).

Bills would be laid before the Reichstag in the name of the Emperor, in accordance with a resolution of the Bundestag, and would be advocated by members of the Bundesrat (or by special commissioners appointed by it)(Article 16).

Imperial legislative powers

Article 4 detailed the areas for which the Empire was responsible for, or was entitle to legislate on:

• Business activity
• Matters concerning natives of one state who were resident in another
• Citizenship
• Surveillance of foreign individuals and businesses
• The issuing of passports
• Insurance business (with some exceptions for Bavaria)
• Colonial activity
• Emigration
• Administration of imperial revenue
• Regulation of weights and measures
• Coinage and the issuing of paper money
• Banking
• Intellectual property
• Protection of German trade and shipping outside of the country
• Consular representation abroad
• Railways (with some exceptions for Bavaria)
• Road and canal construction for means of national defence
• Management of inter-state shipping
• Post and telegraphic services (with some exceptions for Bavaria and Württemberg)
• Authentication of public documents
• Civil law, including its administration
• Criminal law, including its administration
• The Imperial Army and Navy
• Supervision of the medical and veterinary professions.
• Press
• Trades unions

The Reichskanzler (Imperial Chancellor)

The Chancellor of the Empire (Reichskanzler), to be appointed by the Emperor, shall preside in the Federal Council, and supervise the conduct of its business. The Chancellor of the Empire shall have the right to delegate the power to represent him to any member of the Federal Council. (Article 15)

Decrees and ordinances of the Emperor required the counter-signature of the Chancellor to be valide (Article 17).

Citizenship

• A German citizenship was created, and equal treatment of citizens within each state was guaranteed (Article 3).

Imperial officials

Formally, imperial officials were appointed and dismissed by the Emperor. They were required to take an oath of allegiance. Imperial officials appointed from one of the states were guaranteed the same rights as given them by their native state. (Article 18)

Amendments

The constitution was amended on December 20, 1873 by the Lex Miquel-Lasker to make the entirety of civil law the responsibility of the Empire. However, it took some two decades before a national civil code was finally promulgated (as the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch). December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calaber). ... Civil law is a codified system of law that sets out a comprehensive system of rules that are applied and interpreted by judges. ... A civil code is a systematic compilation of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. ... Publication in the Reich Law Gazette on August 24, 1896 The Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (or BGB) is the civil code of Germany. ...

External links

• Act concerning the constitution of the German Empire (Constitution of the German Empire of 16th April 1871, in full text)

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Constitution of the German Empire