The timetable for the election of new judges to the Federal Constitutional Court has been established. According to a letter from Steffen Bilger, First Parliamentary Managing Director, to the members of the Union faction and reported by the Handelsblatt on Friday, the Electoral Committee is scheduled to meet on September 22nd to discuss the candidacy of Sigrid Emmenegger, nominated by the SPD.
The nomination of Emmenegger, intended to replace Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf who withdrew from the selection process for the Constitutional Court following a change in support from parts of the Union faction, was announced last Wednesday by the parliamentary group leaders of the Union and SPD.
Bilger’s letter indicates that the Bundestag will subsequently vote on Emmenegger, along with the remaining candidates Günter Spinner and Ann-Kathrin Kaufhold, on September 25th. The election of Constitutional Court judges requires a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag. Consequently, the candidates require not only the votes of the governing coalition factions of CDU/CSU and SPD, but also the support of parties such as the Greens and the Left, or alternatively, the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
However, the Greens and the Left have expressed criticism. Britta Hasselmann, parliamentary group leader of the Greens, described the lack of consultation with her party as “excessively unprofessional” given the recent history surrounding the selection process. Clara Bünger, the Left’s domestic policy spokesperson, explicitly called for talks with the Union.
