Federal agency (Germany)
Encyclopedia
Federal agencies in Germany
are established to assist the country's executive branch
on the federal level
according to Article 86 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
(Grundgesetz). They are hierarchically organized on four levels:
According to Article 83 of the Grundgesetz, federal laws are generally enforced by the executive branch of the German states
, except for laws referring to those explicit items that are enumerated in the constitution itself. Therefore, the establishment of middle-level and low-level federal agencies is limited to the authority explicitly granted by constitutional law, such as foreign policy
, public finance
, waterways and shipping
, border control
, intelligence assessment, national security
and criminal investigation as well as items concerning the Bundeswehr or aviation and railway issues.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
are established to assist the country's executive branch
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
on the federal level
Politics of Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany is a federal parliamentary republic, based on representative democracy. The Chancellor is the head of government, while the President of Germany is the head of state, which is a ceremonial role but with substantial reserve powers.Executive power is vested in the...
according to Article 86 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitution of Germany. It was formally approved on 8 May 1949, and, with the signature of the Allies of World War II on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May, as the constitution of those states of West Germany that were initially included...
(Grundgesetz). They are hierarchically organized on four levels:
- Top-level federal agencies (Oberste Bundesbehördem), which are distinguished from all other levels as they are specifically mentioned in the Grundgesetz. They include:
- the office of the President of GermanyPresident of GermanyThe President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
(Bundespräsidialamt) - the office of the President of the BundestagPresident of the BundestagThe President of the Bundestag presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker in other countries. In the German order of precedence, his office is ranked second after the President and before the Chancellor...
- the German ChancelleryGerman ChancelleryThe German Chancellery is a federal agency serving the executive office of the Chancellor, the head of the German federal government. The chief of the Chancellery holds the rank of either a Secretary of State or a Federal Minister ...
(Bundeskanzleramt) - the administrative office of the BundesratBundesrat of GermanyThe German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level...
- the President of the Federal Constitutional CourtFederal Constitutional Court of GermanyThe Federal Constitutional Court is a special court established by the Grundgesetz, the German basic law...
(Bundesverfassungsgericht) - the BundesrechnungshofBundesrechnungshofThe Bundesrechnungshof is the supreme federal authority for federal audit matters in Germany. There are equivalent bodies at state level. The status of the Bundesrechnungshof, its members and its essential functions are guaranteed by the German Constitution , and regulated by other legislation The...
- the Representative of the Federal Government for Culture and Media (Kulturstaatsminister)
- the Press and Information Agency of the Federal Government (Bundespresseamt)
- the Federal Ministries led by the members of the German CabinetCabinet of GermanyThe Cabinet of Germany is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Chancellor and the cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's organization are set down in articles 62 to 69 of the Basic Law.-Nomination:...
- the executive board of the Deutsche BundesbankDeutsche BundesbankThe Deutsche Bundesbank is the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany and as such part of the European System of Central Banks . Due to its strength and former size, the Bundesbank is the most influential member of the ESCB. Both the Deutsche Bundesbank and the European Central Bank are...
- the office of the President of Germany
- As far as the authority of the federal legislature is concerned, further Upper-level federal agencies (Bundesoberbehörden) can be established. These agencies are directly attached subordinate to a federal ministry and mostly do not have any agencies subordinate to them, such as
- the BundesnachrichtendienstBundesnachrichtendienstThe Bundesnachrichtendienst [ˌbʊndəsˈnaːχʁɪçtnˌdiːnst] is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, directly subordinated to the Chancellor's Office. Its headquarters are in Pullach near Munich, and Berlin . The BND has 300 locations in Germany and foreign countries...
(subordinate to the German Chancellery) - the Federal Criminal Police OfficeFederal Criminal Police Office (Germany)The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany is a national investigative police agency in Germany and falls directly under the Federal Ministry of the Interior...
, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Federal Office for Information SecurityFederal Office for Information SecurityThe Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik is the German government agency in charge of managing computer and communication security for the German government...
, and the Technisches HilfswerkTechnisches HilfswerkThe Bundesanstalt Technisches Hilfswerk is a civil protection organisation controlled by the German federal government...
(Ministry of the Interior) - the Federal Network AgencyFederal Network AgencyThe Federal Network Agency is the German regulatory office for electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and railway markets. It is a federal government agency of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and headquartered in Bonn....
(Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology) - the Deutsches Patent- und MarkenamtDeutsches Patent- und MarkenamtThe Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt or German Patent and Trade Mark Office is the German national patent office, with headquarters in Munich, and offices in Berlin and Jena...
(Federal Ministry of Justice) - the Federal Agency for Nature ConservationFederal Agency for Nature ConservationThe German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation is the German government’s scientific authority with responsibility for national and international nature conservation...
and the Federal Agency for Radiation ProtectionBundesamt für StrahlenschutzThe Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz is the German Federal Authority for Radiation Protection. The BfS was established in November 1989, the headquarter is located in Salzgitter, with branch offices in Berlin, Bonn, Freiburg, Gorleben, Oberschleißheim and Rendsburg. It has 708 employees and an annual...
(Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety) - the Federal Agency for Materials Research and TestingBundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfungThe Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing or Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung is a German material research institute.-History:...
(Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology) - the Federal Railway Authority and the Federal Agency for AviationLuftfahrt-BundesamtThe Luftfahrt-Bundesamt is the national civil aviation authority of Germany headquartered in Braunschweig...
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs) - the ZollkriminalamtZollkriminalamtThe German Customs Investigation Bureau in Cologne and its investigation offices are federal agencies that fall under the German Finance Ministry...
(Federal Ministry of Finance).
- the Bundesnachrichtendienst
- Middle-level federal agencies are situated between a federal ministry and the lowest administrative level. Their responsibilities are limited to specific regions, for example, the five BundesfinanzdirektionBundesfinanzdirektionThe Bundesfinanzdirektionen replaced the federal parts of the Oberfinanzdirektionen in Germany. This was decided by the Finance Ministry in its draft concept on the future of the federal financial administration on November 6, 2006 and the Law on federal financial adimistration was changed...
en (subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Finance) or the four Military District Administrative Offices of the BundeswehrBundeswehrThe Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
(Federal Ministry of Defence). - Low-level federal agencies are subordinate to middle-level agencies and are responsible for relatively small areas such as District Recruiting Offices, Waterways and Shipping Offices or Chief Customs Offices.
According to Article 83 of the Grundgesetz, federal laws are generally enforced by the executive branch of the German states
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
, except for laws referring to those explicit items that are enumerated in the constitution itself. Therefore, the establishment of middle-level and low-level federal agencies is limited to the authority explicitly granted by constitutional law, such as foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
, public finance
Public finance
Public finance is the revenue and expenditure of public authoritiesThe purview of public finance is considered to be threefold: governmental effects on efficient allocation of resources, distribution of income, and macroeconomic stabilization.-Overview:The proper role of government provides a...
, waterways and shipping
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
, border control
Border control
Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...
, intelligence assessment, national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
and criminal investigation as well as items concerning the Bundeswehr or aviation and railway issues.