Political convention

A party convention is a registered legally regulating meetings of officials and members of a political party, for the discussion of substantive, financial and personnel policies of the Party and is determined. The choice of party leaders, his deputies and the Bureau will be held at party. A party convention is a special form of a general meeting.

Textural background

On most party conferences are not all party members, but for organizational reasons present only a fixed number of delegates. At what level is delegated, is dependent on the size of the convention and the party. Thus, in a Kreis-/Unterbezirksparteitag usually delegate the local branches, while the national associations / districts send to a national party in the large membership, parties usually delegates at members weaker parties, however, the district associations. A delegation on the type of membership is possible in bourgeois parties, for example by working lines such as workers / in, entrepreneurs, farmers, youth, seniors, etc.

In the major political parties delegates party days are often at the county level still common. In order to involve more members in the basic decisions of the county party, more and more circuit party days are carried out in the form of members of party conferences. Some national associations prescribe on the Statute of that county party days are to perform as members of party conventions. Against the imposition of party members days is often argued that they weaken the influence of local associations / local associations and manipulations favor ( for example, by the choice of venue in the vicinity of their own local branch and away from a competing local chapter ).

Since parties are special forms of associations, the German club is right for them in Germany used analogously. According to this, the General Assembly is the central organ of the decision-making process. The function of party days is comparable to an annual general meeting of the association. For local organizations or local chapters of these parties special general meetings (for example, with board election ) is not referred to as " Party ", but (as with clubs that do not enjoy the party privileges ) as the " Annual General Meeting ". The term Party is therefore only for the level of the district association or sub-district levels, and parent use.

Types of classroom meetings

Ordinary Congress

An Ordinary Congress should ensure a statutory functioning of inner-party democracy. On these congresses, which take place at regular intervals, for example, be Awarded party posts. Usually every major party every one to two years, an ordinary party congress to elect the board. Also a choice program is often decided at party before elections.

Extraordinary Party Congress

As an Extraordinary Congress of a Party is designated, organized outside which takes place in a regular cycle of party conventions. This usually happens for an important occasion, which should not be delayed, for example when it is necessary due to unforeseen events of a party legal legitimacy, eg Election of a new party chairman or area chairperson or the decision on the merits in a coalition or government crisis. An example provided the SPD in 2004, when the then Chancellor Gerhard Schröder gave the party chairmanship to the Group Chairman Franz Müntefering. An Extraordinary Congress may confirm coalition agreements even after a successful choice.

The term special party for it is colloquially and in the media also often used.

Federal Party

The Federal Congress is the highest decision-making body under the Articles of most parties. According to the German law on political parties require it. At the party Alliance 90/The Greens the Federal Party Federal Conference delegates called.

The participants of the congress are composed usually of delegates from the lower levels, such as state associations, district associations and district associations. Also based party days, in which all members can participate directly, are possible. The number of delegates depends on it mostly on the number of members of a party in the appropriate regional association. Alternatively, the distribution can also be partially carried out in accordance with the votes in public elections of the Party in the territory of the sub- association. According to § 13 of the Political Parties Act, however, at least half of the delegates rights must be calculated according to the number of members.

Details regulates the statutes of the party. The Federal Congress decides the basic program, selects the party executive, nominated the candidates for chancellor, makes the decision about coalitions with other parties for the purpose of forming a government and can continue to make decisions on any topic that relates to the party. Some parties distinguish between "large" and "small" party days (for Alliance 90/The Greens would be the latter Länderrat ).

The federal party is usually before a Bureau, which presides over the meeting. Also, there is almost always a so-called application Commission requests by individuals or groups processed in advance to ensure a smooth running of the Federal Congress.

Binding effect of decisions Party

Party congress resolutions are not legally binding. For example, had the SPD in 1992 to a change in the Basic Law, the so-called asylum compromise with, although the federal party congress of the SPD had voted against an amendment of Article 16 of the Basic Law ( asylum).

Unity Congress

A Unity Congress is a party meeting at which two (or more) parties join together to form one.

Examples:

• ADAV and SDAP joined between 22 and 27 May 1875 in Gotha for SAP together.
• In December 1920, the party of the left wing of the USPD was formed together with the Communist Party, the KPD.
• On 21 and 22 April 1946 the SPD and KPD were forcibly incorporated into the Soviet occupation zone to the SED.
• On 26-27. September 1990 was the Social Democratic Party in the GDR (SDP ) on the SPD.
• The Green Party and Alliance 90 united in January 1993, Alliance 90/The Greens.
• Linkspartei.PDS and WASG united on 16 June 2007 the Left Party.

Online Party congresses and meetings of members

Before entering the information age it was considered a matter of course that meetings of the members, including party days, "Presence meetings " had to be carried out, ie a voice and vote had only physically attendees. The wording of the party the right you can see that the laws authors did not realize the associated problem.

Alliance 90/The Greens in Baden- Württemberg have carried out an experimental "Virtual Congress " in 2000 and this organ then enshrined in the Statute of the State Association, but not re-convened.

To date, the legal literature has adopted hardly the topic "Online members gathering or party congress in political parties." § 32 of the Civil Code statuiert first in its Section 1 that matters of the association are in principle be settled by decision-making in a general meeting; Paragraph 2 of the same paragraph regulates the other hand, a statutory exemption from the requirement of physical presence in decision- oriented meetings, and thus opens the door for the possibility of on-line meetings. The club enjoys beyond acc. § 40 BGB considerable freedom as regards the design of its internal organization structure in the Articles of Association. It must consequently the general meeting which is mandatory by § 32 German Civil Code as an essential instrument of opinion formation in the club, not to abolish, but he can control how the decision-making process itself should take place within the body of the General Assembly. The online meeting is such a modality in § 32 para 1 BGB arranged meeting.

A practical problem with online membership meetings and party conferences represents the command of § 15 paragraph 2 of the German Law on Political Parties, therefore, elections in parties must always be conducted by secret ballot. Because of the difficulties associated with the Federal Constitutional Court has banned the use of voting machines on 3 March 2009. Also the choice of legal principle of "general " elections under Article 38 of the Basic Law, which applies by analogy to elections within parties, presents a problem, as long as there is the phenomenon of the digital divide.

The Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information holds voting under a "virtual general meeting ", where real names are used and can be where easily determine which vote a Tuning has made it unlawful: " The democratic decision-making process of a party constitutionally by no means a general knowledge ahead of the voting behavior of members; on the contrary, is precisely the possibility of using secret voting a minority protecting democratic precaution. So if polls are to generally be especially understandable by the real name of principle in LQFB, runs the the constitutional requirements of a democratic party structure contrary. "