On 20 June 1991, the Bundestag decided where the capital of united Germany would sit. Members had asked for more than 600 minutes of speaking time. In a roll-call vote, Berlin won by 338 votes to 320. In 1994, the decision was written into a law of its own, the Berlin/Bonn Act. Its full name begins with the words Gesetz zur Umsetzung des Beschlusses des Deutschen Bundestages vom 20. Juni 1991, Act to Implement the Resolution of the German Bundestag of 20 June 1991. Since the autumn of 1999, Berlin has been the seat of parliament and government.
The Seat Belt
From 1 January 1976, drivers and front-seat passengers in West Germany had to wear seat belts. No penalty was attached, and the rule met strong resistance from many drivers. In August 1984, a fine was introduced. Within a few months, the share of people wearing the belt rose to 92 percent. By 2015, it had reached about 98 percent.
A Change Without Effect Until It Is Registered
When the shareholders of a German limited company, a GmbH, want to change its articles of association, the decision needs three quarters of the votes cast. A notary must record it. The change must then be filed with the commercial register. Until it is entered there, it has no legal effect: Die Abänderung hat keine rechtliche Wirkung, bevor sie in das Handelsregister des Sitzes der Gesellschaft eingetragen ist. (The amendment has no legal effect before it is entered in the commercial register at the company’s seat.)
Final and Binding
A German administrative decision, such as a building permit, can usually be challenged by an objection within one month. After that, the decision becomes bestandskräftig. The word has no exact English equivalent. It means that the decision now binds both the authority and the person it is addressed to, and that it can no longer be challenged with ordinary legal remedies. The authority may still withdraw or revoke it in certain cases, and the case can be reopened on application. For decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court, the law states the binding effect directly: they bind the constitutional bodies of the federation and the states, and all courts and authorities.
Black on White
In Goethe’s Faust I, a new student comes to ask for advice. Mephisto, dressed as Faust, tells him to take careful notes in lectures, as if the Holy Spirit were dictating. The student answers: Das sollt Ihr mir nicht zweimal sagen! / Ich denke mir, wie viel es nützt / Denn, was man schwarz auf weiß besitzt, / Kann man getrost nach Hause tragen. (You need not tell me twice! I can see how useful it is. For what you have in black and white, you can carry home with confidence.) Schwarz auf weiß, in black and white, is still a common phrase for in writing, in a form that counts as proof and leaves no room for doubt.
The Vocabulary of Settled Things
Beschlossene Sache — a decided matter. It is no longer open.
Unter Dach und Fach — under roof and in its compartment, that is, safely inside the building. The work is finished.
In trockenen Tüchern — in dry cloths. The matter is safely concluded.
Festschreiben — to write something down so that it is fixed.
Nägel mit Köpfen machen — to make nails with heads. Do it properly, so that it holds.
Der Drops ist gelutscht — the sweet has been sucked. It is over and decided.
Ein Paket wieder aufschnüren — to untie a package again. In politics, it means reopening an agreed compromise, and it is almost always said as a warning.
Rolle rückwärts — a backward roll. The press uses it, usually with mockery, for a politician who reverses a decision.
The Duty to Keep the Peace
German labor law speaks of peace here. While a collective wage agreement is in force, neither side may take industrial action, strikes or lockouts, over the matters it settles. This is the Friedenspflicht, the duty to keep the peace. It does not have to be written into the agreement, because it is considered inherent in every collective agreement. Strikes over matters the agreement does not cover remain allowed. Inside a company, the law goes further. Industrial action between employer and works council is not allowed at all, and both must avoid anything that disturbs den Frieden des Betriebs, the peace of the workplace.
When an Agreement Expires
A works agreement between employer and works council must be decided jointly, written down and signed by both sides. The employer must display it in a suitable place in the workplace. It applies directly and is binding. German labor law also says what happens when such an agreement ends. On matters where the conciliation board can decide if the two sides do not agree, its rules continue bis sie durch eine andere Abmachung ersetzt werden, until they are replaced by another agreement. A similar rule applies to collective wage agreements. When one expires, its rules continue to apply until they are replaced by another agreement.
The Referee’s Decision Is Final
German football has a word for a decision that cannot be reopened: Tatsachenentscheidung, a decision on the facts. On 18 October 2013, Stefan Kießling’s header for Leverkusen went into the Hoffenheim goal through a hole in the side netting, and the referee gave the goal. On 28 October 2013, the DFB sports court rejected Hoffenheim’s protest, because it was a decision on the facts by the referee, die nach dem Regelwerk endgültig sei, which is final under the rules. The famous exception came on 23 April 1994. Thomas Helmer of Bayern Munich was credited with a goal against Nürnberg although the ball had not crossed the line. The match was replayed, because the court found that the referee had not made a decision on the facts himself. He had relied, by eye contact, on the linesman, who wrongly believed the ball was in the goal.
The Debt Brake
In 2009, Germany wrote a limit on new public debt into its constitution, the Schuldenbremse, the debt brake. The Bundestag passed it on 29 May 2009, and the Bundesrat followed on 12 June. From 2016, the federal government could borrow no more than 0.35 percent of economic output in structural terms, and from 2020 the states could not borrow at all in structural terms. A change now needed two-thirds of the members of the Bundestag and two-thirds of the votes in the Bundesrat. On 18 March 2025, the outgoing Bundestag changed it with 512 votes to 206. Defense spending above one percent of economic output was exempted, and a special fund of 500 billion euros was created for infrastructure and climate neutrality. The Bundesrat approved on 21 March 2025 with 53 votes, where 46 were needed.