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ARTICLE 49.
The President of the Realm exercises the right of pardon. Amnesties affecting the whole Realm require an act of the Realm.
ARTICLE 50.
All orders and decrees of the President of the Realm, including those regarding national defence, require for validity the counter-signature of the Chancellor or of the competent Minister of the Realm.
Responsibility is a.s.sumed with this counter-signature.
ARTICLE 51.
Should the President of the Realm be prevented from acting, he shall be represented in the first place by the Chancellor. Should it seem probable that he will be so prevented for a lengthy period, an act of the Realm shall provide for his representation.
The same applies in the case of a premature vacancy in the Presidency for the period preceding a new election.
ARTICLE 52.
The Government of the Realm consists of the Chancellor and the Ministers of the Realm.
ARTICLE 53.
The President of the Realm appoints and dismisses the Chancellor and, on his recommendation, the Ministers of the Realm.
ARTICLE 54.
Chancellor and Ministers of the Realm require the confidence of the Reichstag for the exercise of office. Any one of them must resign should the Reichstag withdraw its confidence by express resolution.
ARTICLE 55.[24]
The Chancellor presides over the Government of the Realm and conducts its business on the basis of Standing Orders, which shall be drawn up by the Government of the Realm and approved by the President of the Realm.
ARTICLE 56.
The Chancellor lays down general policy and is responsible therefor to the Reichstag. Each Minister of the Realm carries on his Department independently within such lines, and is individually responsible therefor to the Reichstag.
ARTICLE 57.
The Ministers of the Realm shall submit for discussion and resolution to the Cabinet all Bills; further, all matters which either the const.i.tution or the laws require to be so submitted; also, differences of opinion on topics which touch more than one Ministerial Department.
ARTICLE 58.
The Government of the Realm decides by simple majority. Where the voting is equal the Chair has a casting vote.
ARTICLE 59.
The Reichstag may impeach the President of the Realm, the Chancellor, and the Ministers in the State Court of Judicature, on the ground of conscious violation of the const.i.tution or law of the Realm. The resolution calling for impeachment must be signed by at least one hundred members of the Reichstag, and requires, in order to be valid, the same majority as in the case of a const.i.tutional amendment. The act inst.i.tuting the Supreme Court of the Realm shall make further provision.
SECTION IV
THE REICHSRAT
ARTICLE 60.[25]
A Reichsrat shall be formed in order to represent the German Lands in the legislation and administration of the Realm.
ARTICLE 61.
Each Land shall have at least one vote in the Reichsrat. In the case of the larger Lands there shall be one vote per million inhabitants.
Any excess over a million not less than the total number of the inhabitants of the smallest State shall be reckoned as a full million.
No Land may have more than two-fifths of the total number of votes.[26]
German-Austria shall, after it has joined the German Realm, have the right to partic.i.p.ate in the Reichsrat with such votes as correspond to its population. Until that time the representatives of German-Austria shall have an advisory voice.[27]
The number of votes shall be determined afresh by the Reichsrat after each general census.
ARTICLE 62.
No Land may have more than one vote on Committees formed by the Reichsrat.
ARTICLE 63.
The Lands shall be represented in the Reichsrat by members of their Governments. But one-half of the Prussian votes shall be held by the Prussian provincial administrations; and further provision therefor will be made by Prussian legislation.[28]
ARTICLE 64.
The Government of the Realm is bound to summon the Reichsrat should one-third of the members of the Reichsrat demand it.
ARTICLE 65.
A member of the Government of the Realm shall preside over the meetings of the Reichsrat. The members of the Government of the Realm may take part in the proceedings of the Reichsrat and of its Committees; they are bound to do so if summoned. They are ent.i.tled to be heard at their request at any time of the proceedings.
