The Morbiditäts- und Mortalitätskonferenz is a regular hospital meeting about complications and deaths. A case that went badly is presented, and the team asks what happened. In 2016 the German Medical Association published a guide for these meetings. It says the discussion should be sach- und nicht personenbezogen, about the matter and not about the person. It should concentrate on facts and processes, not on people. The aim is to work through critical events free of blame. It should be possible to ask “Why?”, and doctors in senior positions must be ready to have their own mistakes discussed. Among the obstacles the guide lists is a discussion that focuses on blame and individual mistakes.
meetings
Two Minutes to Reply in the Bundestag
In a Bundestag debate, a member can ask for a Kurzintervention, a short intervention, after a speech. The rules of procedure limit it to two minutes. The speaker may then reply briefly once more. The rules name two purposes for which the president should grant it: to reject remarks made against one’s own person, and to correct one’s own remarks. Questions and remarks during a speech must be short and precise.
Jour Fixe
der Jour fixe — from French, a fixed day. Duden defines it as a meeting of a fixed group of people that takes place regularly, often on a set weekday. Its spelling note gives unser Jour fixe jeden Dienstagabend, our jour fixe every Tuesday evening. Its usage example is die Mitglieder haben sich schon über zu viele Jours fixes beschwert, the members have already complained about too many jours fixes.
turnusmäßig — as the rotation says. Duden defines der Turnus as a recurrence or order fixed in advance.
The Pause Before the First Cut
Germany’s Patient Safety Alliance recommends a Team-Time-Out before every operation or other invasive procedure. It takes place immediately before the skin incision. A designated moderator leads the whole team through a checklist. The surgeon names the procedure and the site and side of the body. The cut may be made only when every point on the checklist has been completed. All members of the team count as equals, and each is called on to speak up as soon as he or she notices an error.
A Hundred Pages Before the Judges Meet
At the Federal Constitutional Court, one judge prepares each case as rapporteur. He or she writes a Votum, a draft decision with the supporting material, and sends it to the other judges before they deliberate. A judge told the political scientist Uwe Kranenpohl: mehr als hundert Seiten ist durchaus normal, more than a hundred pages is quite normal. When the judges have reached their decision, they meet again to read the draft judgment. Kranenpohl writes: So ist mitunter die Leseberatung intensiver und länger als die eigentliche Entscheidungsberatung. The reading session is sometimes more intensive and longer than the deliberation on the decision itself.
Bound by Handshake
In many German municipalities, the members of a new council, and sometimes the mayor, are formally committed to their duties with a handshake. The rules of procedure of Holm, in Schleswig-Holstein, say that the newly elected mayor must commit his deputies and all other members auf die gewissenhafte Erfüllung ihrer Obliegenheiten durch Handschlag, to the conscientious performance of their duties by handshake. At the session of 3 May 2019 in Modautal, in Hesse, the council chair committed the new mayor durch Handschlag auf die gewissenhafte Erfüllung seiner Aufgaben, by handshake to the conscientious performance of his duties.
Who Does What by When
German guides to meetings distinguish two kinds of minutes. The Verlaufsprotokoll records the course of the discussion. The Ergebnisprotokoll records only the results. For items about who handles which task, the Haufe Academy’s glossary puts it in four words: Wer macht was bis wann? Who does what by when? Its model table has columns for the person responsible, the deadline and the status. The office consultancy Büro-Kaizen adds a rule. Deshalb ist der erste Tagesordnungspunkt bei jeder Besprechung stets das Ergebnisprotokoll der letzten Sitzung. The first agenda item of every meeting is therefore always the results minutes of the last one.
The Class Council Looks Back
A procedure sheet from the Bavarian state school institute shows how a primary-school class council works. The pupils take the roles of chair, minute-taker, rule-keeper and timekeeper. The second step of every session looks back at the last one. Das letzte Protokoll wird verlesen. The last minutes are read aloud, and the children consider how the decisions were carried out. At the end, the new decisions are summed up. A supplier of school materials describes the same review: Die Klasse prüft, ob Aufgaben und Beschlüsse aus dem letzten Klassenrat umgesetzt wurden. The class checks whether the tasks and decisions of the last class council were carried out.
Item One: The Last Minutes
The municipal code of Bavaria says: Die Verhandlungen des Gemeinderats sind niederzuschreiben. The proceedings of the council must be written down. The minutes show the resolutions and the result of each vote. Every member may ask for the minutes to record how he or she voted. The chair and the secretary sign the minutes, and the council must approve them. Citizens may read the minutes of public sessions. On 13 May 2026, the council of Niederalteich in Lower Bavaria met. The first item on its agenda was Genehmigung der Sitzungsniederschrift vom 16.04.2026, approval of the minutes of 16 April 2026.
The Exact Wording
Every meeting of a German works council must be minuted. The Works Constitution Act sets the minimum. The minutes contain den Wortlaut der Beschlüsse und die Stimmenmehrheit, mit der sie gefasst sind, the exact wording of the resolutions and the majority by which each was passed. The chair and one other member sign them. An attendance list is attached, and every participant present must sign it by hand. A member who joins by video confirms in writing.