Legal remedies
A legal remedy serves to contest the decision of a public authority, in particular that of a court. Errors in the electoral procedure of Bundestag elections may only be contested by the legal remedies provided for in the Federal Elections Act and the Federal Electoral Regulations, and errors in European elections by the legal remedies of the European Elections Act and the European Electoral Regulations. Which legal remedy is available in the individual case depends on the measure to be dealt with.
There are for instance the following legal remedies in Bundestag elections:
- Objection to an incorrect or incomplete voters’ register, to be lodged with the municipality (Section 22 (1) to (4) of the Federal Electoral Regulations)
- Objection to the refusal to issue a polling card, to be lodged with the municipality (Section 31 of the Federal Electoral Regulations)
- Complaint about the rejection of a constituency nomination by the constituency electoral committee, to be lodged with the Land electoral committee (Section 26 (2) of the Federal Elections Act)
- Complaint about the rejection of a Land list by the Land electoral committee, to be lodged with the Federal Electoral Committee (Section 28 (2) of the Federal Elections Act)
- Complaint about the non-recognition of a political party by the Federal Electoral Committee, to be lodged with the Federal Constitutional Court (Article 93 para. 1 no. 4c of the Basic Law, Section 13 no. 3a, Sections 96a to 96d of the Federal Constitutional Court Act, Section 18 (4a) of the Federal Elections Act)
- Objection to be lodged with the Bundestag because of an election error rendering the Bundestag election invalid, and because of rights having been violated in the preparation or conduct of the election (electoral scrutiny; Article 41 paras. 1, 3 of the Basic Law, Law on the Scrutiny of Elections)
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There are for instance the following legal remedies in European elections:
- Objection to an incorrect or incomplete voters’ register, to be lodged with the municipality (Section 21 (1) to (4) of the European Electoral Regulations)
- Objection to the refusal to issue a polling card, to be lodged with the municipality (Section 30 of the European Electoral Regulations)
- Complaint about the rejection of a nomination by the Federal Electoral Committee, to be lodged with the Federal Electoral Committee (Section 14 (4) of the European Elections Act)
- Complaint about the rejection of a nomination by the Federal Electoral Committee due to missing party or other political association status, to be lodged with the Federal Constitutional Court (Section 14 (4a) of the European Elections Act in conjunction with Sections 96a to 96d of the Federal Constitutional Court Act)
- Objection to be lodged with the Bundestag because of an election error rendering the European election invalid, and because of rights having been violated in the organisation and conduct of the election (electoral scrutiny; Section 26 (1), (2) of the European Elections Act, Law on the Scrutiny of Elections)
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Last update: 10 April 2017