It is the people themselves, however, to whom the supreme power is given, or, perhaps better expressed, who have reserved the supreme power for themselves by extensive provisions for referendum and initiative. In addition to the provisions for referendum already referred to, the President can decree, within one month after its passage, that any law enacted by the Reichstag shall be referred to the people.
The law-giving powers delegated to the Reichstag can also be exercised directly by the people. One-twentieth of the registered voters can require that a referendum be held on any Reichstag enactment against whose formal proclamation as law at least one-third of the Reichstag members shall have protested. One-tenth of the registered voters can present the draft of a legislative measure and demand that it be referred to a general election. The Reichstag can prevent the holding of such a referendum only by adopting the proposed measure unchanged. Enactments of the Reichstag can be declared invalid by referendum only by the vote of a majority of a majority of all registered voters. Only the President can order that a referendum be held on the national budgets, customs and taxation, and salaries of officials and civil servants. No initiative is possible as to these things.
The people's initiative was one of the various concessions to the Socialists of which more will be said later. It was not contemplated by the framers of the original drafts of the constitution and was introduced at a late period in the deliberations.
The provisions regulating the amendment of the constitution are more definite than those of the United States constitution, and they also make it possible for the voters to make their will known by the democratic method of the direct ballot. [77] Amendments originating with the Reichstag or government may be adopted by the same procedure as is prescribed for ordinary legislative measures, except that two-thirds of two-thirds of all members, i.e., four-ninths of the whole house, must vote for them. [78] A tenth of the registered voters of the country may present a draft of a proposed amendment, as is provided for ordinary bills, and this amendment must be referred to a vote of the people unless the Reichstag adopt it unchanged. For the adoption of an amendment by referendum the affirmative vote of a majority of the registered voters is required. [79]
[ [77] The United States Supreme Court has decided that the constitutional requirement of a vote of "two-thirds of both houses" (art. v) for amendments does not mean two-thirds of both houses, but merely two-thirds of a quorum of both houses. It has further decided that the people of the various states have no right to vote directly upon constitutional amendments; they are confined to indirect representation through their legislatures.
[ [78] Every European people regards its constitution merely as a fundamental law, and ascribes no sacrosanct character to it. Hence the departure from the American requirement of an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the states. On the other hand, the framers of the Weimar constitution, by providing for a direct vote of the people, rendered it impossible for an aggressive and unscrupulous minority to force through an amendment against the wishes of a majority of the people.
[ [79] The question of the return of the monarchy in some form is and will be for some years chiefly of academic interest, but it will be noted that, from a purely juristic viewpoint, a monarchy can be re-established at any time by a bare majority of all German men and women twenty years of age or over, and that one-tenth of the voters, or somewhat less than four millions, could at any time force a vote on the question.
Seven articles deal with the judicial department of the government. They make no important changes from the old constitution, except that courts-martial are forbidden except in time of war or aboard warships. An attempt by the parties of the Left to do away with state courts and place the dispensing of justice solely in the hands of the federal courts failed.
The second "main division" of the constitution deals with the "fundamental rights and fundamental duties of the Germans." Excluding fifteen "transitional and concluding decrees," the constitution contains 165 articles. No less than 56 of these, or more than one-third, are devoted to sections bearing the following titles:
The individual; social life; religion and religious societies; education and school; economic life.