The Federal Constitutional Court is both a court and a constitutional organ. It consists of two Senates with eight Justices each. One Senate is chaired by the President of the Court, the other is chaired by its Vice-President. While each Senate has its own set of precisely defined competences, both Senates officially render their decisions as ‘the Federal Constitutional Court’. Which of the two Senates is competent to decide a particular case is determined by the Federal Constitutional Court Act and the allocation scheme adopted by the Plenary, which is composed of all 16 Justices. In rare cases, the Plenary decides a case itself; a decision by the Plenary becomes necessary if one Senate intends to deviate from the other Senate’s interpretation of a specific legal matter.
As a constitutional organ, the Federal Constitutional Court is not subject to administrative supervision by a ministry – unlike all other courts in Germany. Fundamental questions concerning the Court’s organisation are decided by the Plenary; the Budget and Staff Committee, which is appointed by the Plenary, draws up the draft budget of approximately EUR 40 million per year. The President heads the administration and represents the Court in external relations.
The workload of the Federal Constitutional Court is high. It receives more than 5,000 constitutional complaints every year. In order to deal with this high caseload, both Senates form Chambers with three members each. These Chambers primarily deal with cases involving questions of constitutional law which have already been addressed in the Federal Constitutional Court’s case-law. Such cases make up approximately 99% of proceedings.
Each Justice is assisted by four judicial clerks who have several years of experience working at ordinary courts, public authorities, law firms or universities. Managing the Court’s high caseload would be impossible without the Rechtspfleger (court staff with special legal training), the staff in the Senate registries, the Justices’ personal secretaries, the court office staff, and the administration, library and IT staff. Overall, about 270 people ensure that the Federal Constitutional Court can fulfil its duties.