Diritto Pubblico Comparato ed Europeo

Sommario

1. Premessa. – 2. L’autonomia costituzionale dei Länder. – 3. La problematica dell’omogeneità. – 4. L’omogeneità delle Costituzioni dei Länder. – 5. L’omogeneità dell’ordinamento delle Province e dei Comuni. – 6. L’essenza del problema: legislazione federale e esecuzione dei Länder. – 7. La genesi della riforma. – 8. Il contenuto della riforma. – 9. Risultati e conseguenze. – 10. Il problema dell’equiparazione finanziaria.

Abstract

Federalism in Germany can be truly understood if one considers the fact that both the federal and sub-national level have a State character. In fact, German Länder have their own Constitutions, nevertheless a federal system requires a certain degree of uniformity, especially considering the fact that federal legislation has to be executed by the Länder. This overlap between the federal and sub-national systems justifies the participation of the Länder governments in the Bundesrat, however this makes the decision-making process more complicated. The Constitutional reform of the German federal system in 2006 aims at rationalizing the allocation of competences between the Federal Government and the Länder. This is done by giving the Länder more legislative power and greater discretion in implementing federal legislation, as well as limiting the intervention of the Bundesrat. The paper ends by addressing the various consequences of this reform as well as the possibility of reforming the federal tax system.