THE STATUS OF THE DEPUTIES OF THE LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT IN ACCORD WITH GERMAN CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SECOND HALF OF 19-TH – EARLY 20-TH CENTURY

Abstract

The history of the formation of German constitutions of the second half of the 19th andthe beginning of the 20th centuries is considered, the historical dynamics of the status of a member of the lower house of the German parliament were analyzed and characterized in this article. The constitutional process in Germany during the royal and imperial times was a response to public demand for democratization and a weakening of traditional German authoritarianism, which is differed in the different German states. The active and passive electoral right, that is the basis of the status of the deputy, changed according to the political situation. So, the electoral legislation regulated age, sex, property electoral qualification and local residence qualification in a certain German state, the number of voters in territorial electoral districts and the number of deputies from certain territories. It was noted that population, that growth at the end the 19th – beginning of 20th centuries, did not affect the redistribution of the number of mandates from certain lands.This situation distorted the principle of proportional representation.

At the beginning of the 20th century because of the unsuccessful, from Germany’s point of view, course of events on the fronts of the World War I, dissatisfaction with the government’s activities on the part of the parliament grew. This led to the political debate about electoral reform in the country, which divided German politics and led to a government crisis. Substantial democratic constitutional changes were implemented already after the defeat of Germany in the war and revolution 1918.