Germany Enacts Constitutional Reform to Safeguard Federal Constitutional Court

The Bundestag and Bundesrat approve measures to protect the court's independence and structure from potential extremist influence.

The Bundestag and Bundesrat have passed a constitutional amendment to enshrine key structural and operational rules of the Federal Constitutional Court into Germany's Basic Law.
The reform sets the court's structure at two senates with eight judges each, limits judicial terms to 12 years, and establishes an age cap of 68 years for judges.
Judges will no longer be eligible for reappointment, and the amendment includes provisions for maintaining judicial operations until successors are elected.
The changes aim to shield the court from risks posed by potential extremist political influence, inspired by concerning developments in other countries such as Poland and Hungary.
A broad coalition of major political parties, including CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens, FDP, and Left Party, supported the reform, with only the far-right AfD opposing it.