Federal Constitutional Court - Press office -

Press release no. 26/2012 of 2 May 2012

Order of 18 April 2012 – 2 BvE 2/09, 2 BvE 2/10 –

Organstreit proceedings relating to the election of the Federal President:
exclusion of Federal Constitutional Court Justice Müller


The Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court decided in two 
Organstreit proceedings (proceedings on disputes between supreme Federal 
bodies) that Federal Constitutional Court Justice Müller is excluded 
from exercising his judicial office. 

Inter alia, the applicant was a member of the Fourteenth Federal 
Convention to elect the Federal President, and he regards his 
constitutional rights as having been violated, above all by resolutions 
of the Convention on rules of procedure. He rejected Federal 
Constitutional Court Justice Müller, who, he said, had been a member of 
the Federal Convention and had shared responsibility for its 
resolutions. 

Under the provisions of the Federal Constitutional Court Act 
(Bundesverfassungsgerichtsgesetz – BVerfGG), justices of the Federal 
Constitutional Court are excluded from the exercise of their office if 
they have already acted in the same matters by reason of their office or 
profession (§ 18.1 no. 2 BVerfGG). This is the case with regard to 
Federal Constitutional Court Justice Müller. Before he was appointed a 
justice, he acted in the same matter, participating in the decision. 
Participating in votes and elections in the Federal Convention is not 
participation in the legislative process; the Act does not provide for 
exclusion in this case (§ 18.3 no. 1 BVerfGG). 


This press release is also available in the original german version.