Legislative Senior Civil Service Examination cheat sheet

Constitutional supremacy: any statute, regulation, or executive act inconsistent with the constitution is void to the extent of the inconsistency; ordinary courts or a dedicated constitutional court enforce this depending on the system.

Rigidity test: amendment requires a special majority or referendum; rigidity is what distinguishes constitutional from ordinary law and anchors judicial review.

Verfassungsmäßige Ordnung (militant democracy): constitutional provisions may be enforced against parties or associations that aim to abolish the free democratic order, subject to proportionality and judicial determination.

Proportionality analysis (four steps): legitimate aim → suitability → necessity (least restrictive means) → balancing in the narrow sense; failure at any step invalidates the measure.

Interpretation canons: textual (grammatical), systematic, historical, and teleological; teleological and systematic reasoning dominate in continental constitutional courts, textualism in common-law systems.

Unconstitutional omission: where the constitution mandates protection and the legislature has failed to act, the court may declare an omission unconstitutional and set a compliance deadline without drafting the statute itself.

Vagueness doctrine: a criminal or restrictive norm must define the prohibited conduct with sufficient definiteness that citizens can regulate their conduct and officials cannot act arbitrarily.

Fundamental-rights limitation clause: rights may be limited only by statute (or on statutory authority), only for a legitimate purpose, and never in their essential content (Wesensgehalt guarantee).

Standing and constitutional complaint: individual complaint typically requires exhaustion of ordinary remedies and a direct, present, personal violation of a fundamental right, filed within a fixed period (often one month).

Legality of administrative action: statute-conformity (Vorrang), necessity of a statutory basis for burdensome acts (Vorbehalt), and proportionality of discretionary acts.

Administrative act (Verwaltungsakt) elements: authority, public-law subject matter, external effect, individual case, and regulatory intent; missing elements make it void rather than merely voidable.

Void vs. voidable: a void act is ineffective from the outset and needs no annulment; a merely unlawful act remains effective until withdrawn or annulled within the applicable period.

Discretion (Ermessen) review: courts check for misuse (inauthority, bad faith, irrelevant considerations) and for reduction to zero where only one decision is lawful, but do not substitute their own policy choice.

Hearing and reasoning duty: affected parties must be heard before a burdensome decision, and the decision must state its grounds; failure is a procedural defect curable in some systems, fatal in others.

Proportionality in police and regulatory law: measures must be suitable, necessary, and proportionate; the least intrusive effective measure must be chosen.

Administrative contract: public-law contracts are valid only where statute permits; illegality of the underlying act generally voids the contract, and unilateral termination is available for serious breach.

Judicial review scope: courts examine facts and law de novo in administrative appeals but are bound by statutory discretion; annulment, declaratory, and performance judgments are the main remedies.

State liability: unlawful administrative acts can trigger compensation claims where the official breached a duty owed to the claimant; fault-based and strict-liability regimes differ by jurisdiction.

Bill stages: initiation → committee referral → committee report → plenary debate and amendment → final vote → second-chamber review → promulgation and publication.

Quorum: typically a majority of statutory members (not of those present); a session opened without quorum is invalid and its resolutions can be challenged.

Simple majority: more votes for than against, abstentions excluded; absolute majority: majority of statutory members; two-thirds majority: of members present or of statutory members depending on the rule.

Three-reading rule: at least two or three readings on separate days, with committee stage between them, ensure deliberation; exceptions exist for urgent bills with a supermajority.

Amendments: admissible only if within the scope of the bill; amendments at third reading often require a supermajority or the government's consent.

Motion of censure/confidence: constructive vote of no confidence requires naming a successor; a failed confidence vote may trigger dissolution or a minority government.

Committee powers: right to summon ministers and documents, subcommittee inquiries, and minority-requested public hearings; committee rejection usually ends a bill unless the plenary overrides.

Promulgation and publication: the head of state signs and publishes; the act enters into force on the publication date or a stated later date; constitutional review may precede promulgation in some systems.

Parliamentary immunity: non-liability for votes and statements in the chamber is absolute; inviolability from arrest is limited and can be waived by the chamber.

Contract formation: offer + acceptance creates binding obligation; acceptance must mirror the offer (mirror-image rule), and silence is not acceptance unless prior dealings or statute provide otherwise.

Defects of consent: mistake, deception, and duress render a contract voidable; the avoidance must be declared within a statutory period (often one year from discovery).

Causation and damages: compensation covers the loss actually caused by breach; consequential damages require foreseeability at formation in common-law systems, adequacy of causation in civil-law systems.

Burden of proof: claimant proves the facts constituting the claim; defendant proves facts defeating it (limitation, performance, set-off); res ipsa and prima facie proof shift the burden in specific cases.

Limitation periods: general period typically 3 years from knowledge of damage and debtor; absolute cut-off often 10 or 30 years from the act, unaffected by knowledge.

Res judicata: a final judgment bars re-litigation of the same claim between the same parties; identity of parties, object, and cause of action is required.

Interim measures: attachment, injunction, and provisional seizure require a showing of urgency and a security deposit; they lapse if the main action is not filed within the statutory period.

Appeal structure: first instance (facts and law) → appeal (law and limited facts) → cassation (law only); new evidence is generally inadmissible at cassation.

Arbitration: valid arbitration agreement excludes court jurisdiction; awards are final and enforceable, set aside only for procedural defects or public-policy violation.

Nullum crimen sine lege: no punishment without a pre-existing statutory definition; analogy to the defendant's detriment is prohibited, and the milder law applies retroactively (lex mitior).

Mens rea levels: intent (dolus) - direct, indirect, and eventualis; negligence (culpa) - conscious and unconscious; accident excludes liability.

Causation: conduct must be a conditio sine qua non and attributable under objective imputation (foreseeability, scope of the norm's protective purpose).

Attempt: liability begins where the perpetrator puts the act into direct commencement; voluntary abandonment before completion exempts from punishment for the attempted offense.

Participation: perpetration (own act) vs. complicity (aiding/abetting); the accessory's liability is derivative and cannot exceed the principal's.

Justification defenses: self-defense (necessary and proportionate to the attack), necessity, consent, and lawful official act; mistake about justification facts is treated as negligence.

Presumption of innocence: the prosecution bears the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt; in dubio pro reo resolves remaining doubt in the defendant's favor.

Coercive measures: arrest and pre-trial detention require judicial authorization within a statutory deadline (often 48 hours); detention must be reviewed periodically.

Exclusionary rule: evidence obtained through torture or serious procedural violation is inadmissible; derivative evidence may be excluded depending on the attenuation doctrine.

Policy cycle: agenda setting → formulation → adoption → implementation → evaluation → termination; each stage has distinct actors and evidence needs.

Regulatory impact assessment (RIA): identify the problem, baseline, options, costs and benefits, distributional effects, and the preferred option with justification before drafting.

SMART criteria: objectives must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound; vague objectives are a drafting defect.

Cost-benefit rule: adopt the option with the highest net social benefit; where benefits are unquantifiable, use cost-effectiveness analysis or multi-criteria analysis.

Drafting structure: title, preamble (purpose and legal basis), definitions, substantive obligations, enforcement and sanctions, transitional provisions, entry-into-force clause.

Legal drafting tests: constitutionality, compatibility with superior law, internal consistency, enforceability, and clarity (unambiguous addressees and obligations).

Delegated legislation: the enabling act must specify the content, purpose, and scope of the delegation; open-ended delegations are unconstitutional.

Sunset and review clauses: automatic expiry or mandatory review dates force evaluation and prevent regulatory accretion.

Stakeholder consultation: publication of draft texts and a comment period are procedural requirements in many jurisdictions; failure can invalidate the final act.

Presidentialism: separation of powers with fixed terms; the president is not removable by the legislature except by impeachment, and the legislature cannot be dissolved.

Parliamentarism: the executive derives from and is accountable to the legislature; confidence and censure motions link the two branches.

Semi-presidentialism: a directly elected president plus a prime minister responsible to parliament; cohabitation occurs when the two majorities differ.

Bicameralism: second chambers represent territorial units (federal systems) or provide a revising function; their powers range from veto to mere delay.

Electoral systems: first-past-the-post (single-member, majoritarian), proportional representation (party lists), and mixed-member systems; district magnitude drives proportionality.

Federalism: distribution of competences by enumeration (residual clause), subsidiarity, and federal supremacy; disputes are resolved by a constitutional court.

Party systems: Duverger's law predicts two-party competition under plurality rule and multiparty systems under proportional representation.

Legislative-executive relations: legislative veto, delegated legislation scrutiny, question time, and committee oversight are the main control instruments.

Judicial review models: centralized (constitutional court with monopoly) vs. decentralized (all courts may refuse to apply unconstitutional law).

Budget principles: unity, universality (no gross/netting), annuality, specificity (itemization), publicity, and accuracy (no over- or under-estimation).

Budget cycle: executive preparation → legislative authorization → execution → audit → discharge (Entlastung) by the legislature.

Legislative budget power: the legislature may amend but cannot increase expenditure without identifying a corresponding revenue source in many systems.

Appropriation rule: expenditure may be made only for the purpose and up to the amount authorized; virement between lines requires statutory or ministerial authority.

Debt brake: structural deficit limits tie borrowing to cyclical adjustment; emergency escape clauses require qualified majorities and repayment plans.

Audit institution: an independent supreme audit institution reports to the legislature; its findings are the basis for the discharge procedure.

Public procurement: transparency, equal treatment, and competitive tendering are mandatory; direct awards require statutory exceptions and justification.

Fiscal transparency: publication of budget documents, contingent liabilities, and tax expenditures enables meaningful legislative review.

Contingency reserve: unallocated funds may be released only under statutory conditions; misuse is a budget-law violation.