Federal Constitutional Court - Press office -

Press release no. 36/2013 of 14 May 2013
2 BvR 1390/12 	 
2 BvR 1421/12 		
2 BvR 1438/12 
2 BvR 1439/12 
2 BvR 1440/12 
2 BvR 1824/12 
2 BvE 6/12 


Accreditation Conditions and Information for Journalists and Visitors
Concerning the Oral Hearing in the “ESM/ECB” Principal Proceedings



- Special Fax Number for Accreditation: + 49 721 9101-541 -


As already announced, the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional 
Court will conduct an oral hearing on Tuesday 11 June 2013 and Wednesday 
12 June 2013 in the “ESM/ECB” principal proceedings. Press release no. 
29/2013 of 19 April 2013 contains additional information (in German), 
including the outline of the oral hearings. 

Please Note the Following Important Information for the Accreditation 
Procedure: 
Accreditation requests can only be made by telefax on the form provided, 
under the number +49 721 9101-541. The period for accreditation starts 
on Tuesday 21 May 2013 at 12:00 noon and ends on Tuesday 28 May 2013 at 
12:00 noon. For the allotment of seats and their distribution, the media 
will be broken up into four different groups. For further information, 
please consult the last pages of this press release. 

Subject-Matter of the Proceedings 
1. With regard to most of these proceedings, the Senate has already 
conducted oral hearings dealing with applications for preliminary 
injunctions according to § 32 of the Federal Constitutional Court Act 
(Bundesverfassungsgerichtsgesetz – BVerfGG). The objective of these 
applications was to prohibit the Federal President from signing the 
statutes, which the Bundestag and the Bundesrat had passed on 29 June 
2012 in order to deal with the sovereign debt crisis in the euro 
currency area, before the Court had come to a decision in the principal 
proceedings (cf. press release no. 47/2012 of 2 July 2012). After 
performing a summary review of the legal issues, the Senate rejected the 
applications for the most part in its judgment of 12 September 2012 (2 
BvR 1390/12, 2 BvR 1421/12, 2 BvR 1438/12, 2 BvR 1439/12, 2 BvR 1440/12 
and 2 BvE 6/12) and its order of the same day (2 BvR 1824/12). For 
further details please see press release no. 67/2012 of 12 September 
2012 (available in English). 

a) In the present principal proceedings, the Senate will render a final 
judgment on the constitutionality of the following Acts: the Act 
approving the European Council Decision of 25 March 2011 amending 
Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 
(TFEU), the Act approving the Treaty of 2 February 2012 establishing the 
European Stability Mechanism (ESM Treaty), and the Act approving the 
Treaty of 2 March 2012 on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the 
Economic and Monetary Union (Fiscal Compact). The Senate will also 
clarify the legal questions which the judgment of 12 September 2012 
expressly reserved for the principal proceedings (on this, cf. also 
press release no. 47/2012 of 2 July 2012). This concerns in particular 
two issues: the involvement of Parliament in decisions taken by the 
European Stability Mechanism regarding the issue of shares of its 
capital stock on terms other than at par (Art. 8 sec. 2 sentence 4 TESM) 
and ensuring with regard to the budget that Art. 4 sec. 8 TESM will 
under no circumstances be applied to the Federal Republic of Germany 
(cf. BVerfG, judgment of the Second Senate of 12 September 2012 – 2 BvR 
1390/12 et al. –, marginal no. 280, German original: 
http://www.bverfg.de/entscheidungen/rs20120912_2bvr139012.html English 
translation: 
http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen/rs20120912_2bvr139012en.html). 

b) Also under review is the way in which the Act for Financial 
Participation in the European Stability Mechanism (ESM Financing Act, 
ESM-Finanzierungsgesetz – ESMFinG) structures the participation of the 
German Bundestag in matters of the European Stability Mechanism. The 
Senate has reserved for the principal proceedings in particular the 
following points: under which circumstances a constitutional complaint 
can be filed against the allocation of competencies between the plenary 
session, the budget committee and other subsidiary bodies of the German 
Bundestag alleging that this violates the core of the right to vote, 
protected by Art. 38 sec. 1 in conjunction with Art. 79 sec. 3 of the 
Basic Law (Grundgesetz – GG); whether rights of the members of the 
Bundestag have been violated, a claim that was made in the Organstreit 
proceedings; and the functional allocation of competencies between the 
bodies of the Bundestag (cf. BVerfG, judgment of the Second Senate of 12 
September 2012 – 2 BvR 1390/12 et al. –, marginal no. 294). 

2. Measures taken by the European Central Bank in the context of the 
sovereign debt crisis were not part of the proceedings for a preliminary 
injunction. 

a) After the delivery of the judgment of 12 September 2012, some of the 
complainants and the applicant in the Organstreit proceedings extended 
their applications in some aspects; now, they challenge in particular 
the European Central Bank’s decision of 6 September 2012 on the 
so-called Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) programme, its decision 
of 14 May 2010 on the Securities Markets Programme (SMP), the purchase 
of government bonds within the framework of both programmes, the 
lowering of the credit standards for the government bonds to be 
deposited as a security for Central Bank loans, and the establishment of 
the TARGET2 system. 

b) Furthermore, some constitutional complaints challenge an 
unconstitutional omission by the Federal Government. They put forward 
that due to its responsibility for the European integration 
(Integrationsverantwortung), the Federal Government is obliged to 
ensure that the boundaries of the integration programme are respected, 
and to counteract possible violations of the integration programme by 
suitable measures. They therefore argue that the Federal Government has 
a duty to bring an action before the Court of Justice of the European 
Union against the OMT decision and the purchase of government bonds or 
to work in another way towards a cancellation of these measures. They 
claim that the challenged measures and omissions violate their right 
under Art. 38 sec. 1 in conjunction with Art. 79 sec. 3 GG. They further 
claim that the European Central Bank acted outside its mandate, i.e. 
ultra vires. They further argue that the Basic Law‘s constitutional 
identity, which is protected by Art. 79 sec. 3 GG, and the Bundestag’s 
overall budgetary responsibility are violated. They finally argue that 
the measures of the European Central Bank endanger mone-tary stability 
(Art. 14 sec. 1, Art. 88 GG). 

c) The applicant in the Organstreit proceedings now also objects to what 
it claims is an unconstitutional omission by the German Bundestag to 
work towards a cancellation of the OMT decision. The applicant argues 
that also the Bundestag’s responsibility for the European integration 
results in an obligation to counteract transgressions of the European 
Union’s competencies, and to take the measures necessary to abolish such 
transgressions. 



Accreditation Conditions and Information for Journalists


Accreditation

The accreditation procedure starts on Tuesday 21 May 2013 at 12:00 noon. 
Accreditation requests received before this point in time will not be 
considered. The Federal Constitutional Court will not of its own accord 
inform the sender if an accreditation request has been made ahead of 
time. 

The accreditation procedure ends on Tuesday 28 May 2013 at 12:00 noon. 
After the expiry of this period, no accreditations are possible. 

Accreditation requests can be made by telefax only. They must be sent to 
the telefax number +49 721 9101-541; several lines will be connected to 
this number. Accreditation requests which are sent to other telefax 
numbers of the Federal Constitutional Court will not be considered, nor 
will accreditation requests received by email. 

For accreditation requests, the following forms must be used: 

http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/documents/Formblatt_ESM_Akkreditierung-Presse.pdf 

(in German) or

http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/documents/Formblatt_ESM_Akkreditierung-Presse_e.pdf

(in English). The form must be filled in completely, and it must 
indicate for which of the four media groups the accreditation is 
requested. 

The accreditation requests will be considered in the order in which they 
have been received. This will be deter-mined by the order shown on the 
notice of receipt in the log report of the fax server of the fax number 
+49 712 9101-541. If faxes have been received at the same time, 
accreditation is awarded by drawing lots. 

A few days after the expiry of the deadline, the Federal Constitutional 
Court will notify the applicants by email of whether their accreditation 
requests have been successful or unsuccessful. 


Available Seats and Allocation of Seats

In the press gallery, there will be a total of 40 seats for media 
representatives. In addition, two press rooms (C003and C213) will be 
established, which will provide a total of another 47 seats. The 
available seats are allo-cated as follows: 

    1. In the press gallery, 15 seats are reserved in advance for full 
       members (honorary members excepted) of the Justizpressekonferenz 
       Karlsruhe e.V. (JPK). Each medium which is represented in the JPK 
       by a full member is entitled to one of these seats. The same 
       applies to each full member who does not represent a specific 
       medium. A full member who represents more than one medium is only 
       entitled to one seat.

    2. For the distribution of the other 72 seats, the media are broken 
       down into four groups. The seats are allo-cated in the following 
       sequence: 

        Seats nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8 each go to a medium headquartered 
        in Germany. 

        Seats nos. 3and 6 each go to a medium headquartered in another 
        state of the euro currency area. 

        Seat no. 9 goes to a medium headquartered in a state outside the 
        euro currency area. 

        Seat no. 10 goes to a free journalist. All free journalists form 
        part of this group, irrespective of their countries of origin. 

       Subsequently, counting starts again at 1. If all applicants from 
       an entitled group have already been con-sidered, the respective 
       figure is skipped.

    3. The seats in the press gallery are allocated first, then, 
       counting consecutively, the seats in press room C003, and last, 
       the seats in press room C213. 

    4. First, every medium accredited in due time is allocated only one 
       seat. Another seat per medium is allo-cated if all media 
       accredited in due time have received a seat. The same applies to 
       the allocation of fur-ther seats. Free journalists are considered 
       within their above-mentioned group. 


General Information

It is not permitted to make phone calls, tweet or send other messages, 
retrieve digital data, or use the internet in any way within or from the 
courtroom. All electronic devices which can be used for these purposes, 
in particular mobile phones, laptop computers and tablet computers, may 
not be used in the courtroom. Media repre-sentatives can obtain 
permission to use computers in offline mode if it is ensured that the 
devices are not used for sound or image recording or for data 
transmission. 

The seats in the press gallery must be taken by 9:30 a.m. on the 
respective day. If a seat has not been taken by this time, it will be 
allocated otherwise for this day. At 9:40 a.m., the seats in the press 
gallery which have remained vacant will be offered to the journalists 
with the lowest seat number which are present in press room C003at this 
time. Journalists who do not have a seat in the press gallery will have 
to leave the courtroom after the presiding justice of the Senate has 
established the presence of the parties to the proceedings. The area 
outside the courtroom must be vacated. 

There will be an audio transmission from the courtroom to both press 
rooms. Each press room is equipped with 230V sockets for laptops and an 
analogue telephone line. The Federal Constitutional Court cannot 
guarantee the capacity of mobile telephone and data networks. In press 
room C213, a total of 15 additional workplaces are at the disposal of 
all journalists who have been allocated seats in the press gallery. 
These workplaces are not assigned individually. 


Taking Photographs and Filming; Pooling

1. Taking photographs, filming and sound recording are permissible until 
   the end of the establishment of the presence of the parties to the 
   proceedings by the presiding justice of the Senate. After that, 
   photographers and camera teams have to leave the courtroom and the 
   press gallery. 

2. Two television teams (a public and a private television station with 
   a maximum of three cameras each) and six photographers (four agency 
   photographers and two free photographers) are admitted to the 
   courtroom (pooling).

   The willingness to be a pool representative must be stated with the 
   accreditation request.
   The pool representatives undertake to supply, upon request, their 
   photographs and films to other radio and television stations, as well 
   as photographic agencies. 

   The allocation of seats to pool representatives takes place in the 
   order in which the faxes with their accredi-tation requests have been 
   received. This will be determined by the order shown on the notice of 
   receipt in the log report of the fax server of the fax number 
   +49 712 9101-541. If faxes have been received at the same time, the 
   seats are allocated by drawing lots. 

   The television stations, agencies and photographers are free to 
   determine the persons who are part of their teams.

3. When taking photographs and filming in the courtroom, photographers, 
   camera operators and other media representatives must ensure that the 
   Senate has free vision to all sides. Taking photographs, filming and 
   sound recording from behind the Justices’ bench is not allowed. It is 
   not allowed to enter the area behind the Justices’ bench. 
   Instructions by the court staff must be complied with. Taking 
   photographs and filming is only permitted with silent devices without 
   a flash. 

4. After the end of the oral proceedings, and during the lunch break, a 
   period of 20 minutes is assigned for interviews with the parties to 
   the proceedings in the courtroom, as well as for filming them and 
   taking photographs of them there. Beyond this period, the press 
   niches in front of the courtroom are available for this purpose.


Vehicles of Radio and Television Teams; Technicians

There are only a limited number of parking spaces available for SNG 
vehicles, editing vehicles and OB vans. If parking spaces are needed, 
this must be indicated with the accreditation request on the form 
provided. The parking spaces are allocated in the order in which the 
requests have been received. For the allocation of the parking spaces, 
the following information is requested: number plate, vehicle type, 
make, dimensions (L x W x H in meters), weight and, if applicable, 
demand of power to be supplied by the Federal Constitutional Court. 

The names, dates of birth and ID card numbers of the accompanying 
technicians and the vehicle data can be submitted subsequently. They 
must be sent via fax by Monday, 10 June 2013, 10:00 a.m. at the latest 
(fax no. +49 721 9101-461 – use only for the data which are submitted 
subsequently). The following forms must be used as well: 

http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/documents/Formblatt_ESM_Akkreditierung-Presse.pdf 

(in German) or

http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/documents/Formblatt_ESM_Akkreditierung-Presse_e.pdf

(in English). Data which are submitted after the expiry of the deadline 
or by email cannot be considered.

It is possible to arrive and to set up the equipment on the day before 
the oral hearings from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and on the day of the oral 
hearings between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.


Setting up of Studios

It is only possible to set up studios in the press niches. The two large 
press niches will be allocated to the televi-sion stations that act as 
pool representatives. The smaller press niche will be allocated in the 
order in which the faxes with the accreditation requests have been 
received. This will be determined by the order shown on the notice of 
receipt in the log report of the fax server of the fax number +49 712 
9101-541. If faxes have been re-ceived at the same time, the press 
niches are allocated by drawing lots. 

This information is based on § 17a of the Federal Constitutional Court 
Act in conjunction with the supplementing provisions laid down by the 
First and the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court. 


Information for Interested Citizens

Interested citizens who want to attend the oral hearings are requested 
to register, by phone or by fax, under the following address: 

	Mr Stadtler
	Postfach 1771, 76006 Karlsruhe, Germany
    Phone: +49 721 9101-400
	Fax: -49 721 9101-461

Registration starts on Tuesday 21 May 2013, at 12:00 noon and ends on 
Tuesday 28 May 2013, at 12:00 noon.

The registration must indicate the person’s surname, first name, date 
of birth and a phone or fax number. 

Registrations will be considered in the order in which they have been 
received.






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