Legislative Senior Civil Service Examination flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Proportionality test

A four-step review of state measures: legitimate aim, suitability, necessity (least restrictive means), and balancing. Failure at any step renders the measure unconstitutional or unlawful.

Wesensgehalt guarantee

The rule that fundamental rights may be limited only in ways that preserve their essential core. A limitation that empties the right of substance is unconstitutional regardless of the aim.

Unconstitutional omission

A finding that the legislature failed to enact a constitutionally mandated protection. The court declares the omission and sets a deadline, but generally leaves drafting to the legislature.

Vagueness doctrine

A norm must describe prohibited conduct with enough definiteness that citizens can guide their conduct and officials cannot apply it arbitrarily. Excessive vagueness invalidates the norm.

Administrative act elements

Authority, public-law subject matter, external effect, individual case, and regulatory intent. If any element is missing, the act is void rather than merely voidable.

Void versus voidable act

A void administrative act has no legal effect from the outset. A merely unlawful act remains effective until it is withdrawn or annulled within the applicable time limit.

Vorbehalt des Gesetzes

The requirement that burdensome or rights-affecting administrative action rest on a statutory basis. Without such a basis, the measure lacks legality and is unlawful.

Discretion review limits

Courts review discretion for misuse such as bad faith or irrelevant considerations, and for reduction to zero. They do not substitute their own policy judgment for the agency's lawful choice.

State liability claim

A compensation claim against the state for unlawful administrative action that breached an official duty owed to the claimant. Fault-based and strict regimes differ by jurisdiction.

Quorum requirement

The minimum number of members who must be present for a chamber to validly deliberate and vote. It is usually a majority of statutory members, not of those present.

Absolute majority

A voting threshold requiring more than half of the statutory members of the chamber, regardless of how many are present. It is stricter than a simple majority of votes cast.

Constructive vote of no confidence

A censure motion that takes effect only if it simultaneously elects a successor head of government. It prevents negative majorities from toppling an executive without forming a new one.

Three-reading rule

A procedure requiring the bill to be debated and voted at separate readings, with committee review between them, to ensure deliberation before final adoption.

Parliamentary immunity

Non-liability shields members absolutely for votes and statements made in the chamber. Inviolability from arrest is limited and can be waived by the chamber itself.

Mirror-image rule

An acceptance must match the offer's terms exactly to form a contract. A modified acceptance is a counter-offer that rejects the original and requires fresh acceptance.

Res judicata

A final judgment bars re-litigation of the same claim between the same parties. It requires identity of parties, object, and cause of action.

Burden of proof

The claimant proves facts constituting the claim; the defendant proves facts defeating it, such as limitation or performance. Specific doctrines shift this burden in defined cases.

Limitation period

The time within which a claim must be brought. A relative period runs from knowledge of damage and debtor; an absolute cut-off runs from the act regardless of knowledge.

Interim measures

Provisional attachment, injunction, or seizure granted on a showing of urgency and usually a security deposit. They lapse if the main action is not filed within the statutory period.

Nullum crimen sine lege

No punishment without a pre-existing statutory definition of the offense. Analogy to the defendant's detriment is prohibited, and the milder law applies retroactively.

Dolus eventualis

A form of intent where the perpetrator foresees the prohibited result as possible and accepts it. It is treated as intent, not negligence, and permits full punishment.

In dubio pro reo

The rule that remaining doubt after the evidence is assessed must be resolved in the defendant's favor. It follows from the presumption of innocence and the prosecution's burden.

Exclusionary rule

Evidence obtained through torture or serious procedural violation is inadmissible. Derivative evidence may also be excluded depending on attenuation and the seriousness of the violation.

Voluntary abandonment

Withdrawal from an attempted offense before completion, without the result occurring, exempts the actor from punishment for the attempt if the withdrawal is voluntary and complete.

Regulatory impact assessment

A structured analysis before drafting: problem definition, baseline, options, costs and benefits, distributional effects, and the justified preferred option.

Delegated legislation limits

The enabling act must specify the content, purpose, and scope of the delegation. Open-ended delegations without such limits are unconstitutional in most systems.

Sunset clause

A provision under which a statute or delegated instrument expires automatically on a stated date unless extended. It forces periodic evaluation and prevents regulatory accretion.

Duverger's law

Plurality rule in single-member districts tends to produce two-party competition. Proportional representation tends to produce multiparty systems with coalition governments.

Semi-presidentialism

A system with a directly elected president and a prime minister responsible to parliament. Cohabitation arises when the president and parliamentary majority are from different camps.

Centralized judicial review

A model in which a single constitutional court has a monopoly on reviewing statutes. Ordinary courts may refer questions but cannot themselves refuse to apply a law.

Budget universality

The principle that all revenues and expenditures appear gross in the budget, without netting. It preserves transparency and prevents hidden spending.

Discharge procedure

The legislature's formal approval of the executive's budget execution, based on the supreme audit institution's report. Refusal signals accountability failure and may have political consequences.