On 30 May 1968, the Bundestag passed the Notstandsgesetze, the emergency laws. On 11 May, more than 40,000 people had marched on Bonn in protest. Critics recalled Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, under which the president could suspend basic rights such as the freedom of assembly. The laws define two cases in advance, the Spannungsfall, a state of tension, and the Verteidigungsfall, a state of defense. They create a joint committee, two thirds from the Bundestag and one third from the Bundesrat, that can act as an emergency parliament. They also ensure that the Bundestag cannot be dissolved in a state of defense and that the Constitutional Court continues to work.