Bundesrat

Bundesrat is a German word that means federal council and may refer to:

Bundesrat of Germany

The German Bundesrat (literally "Federal Council"; pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁaːt]) is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder (federal states) of Germany at the national level. The Bundesrat meets at the former Prussian House of Lords in Berlin. Its second seat is located in the former West German capital of Bonn.

The Bundesrat participates in legislation, alongside the Bundestag, the directly elected representation of the people of Germany, with laws affecting state competences and all constitutional changes requiring the consent of the body. For its similar function, it is often described as an upper house of parliament along the lines of the US Senate, the Canadian Senate or the British House of Lords. The German constitution, however, does not define the Bundesrat and the Bundestag as the upper and lower houses of a bicameral legislature. Officially, it is generally referred to as a "constitutional body" alongside the Bundestag, the Federal President, the Federal Cabinet and the Federal Constitutional Court.

Federal Council (Austria)

The Federal Council (German: Bundesrat (pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁaːt]) is the second chamber of the Austrian Parliament, representing the nine States of Austria (Bundesländer) on federal level. As part of a bicameral legislature alongside of the National Council (Nationalrat), it can be compared with an upper house or a senate. In fact, however, it is far less powerful than the National Council: although it has to approve every new law decided for by this "lower" chamber, the latter can—in most cases—overrule the Federal Council´s refusal to approve.

The Bundesrat has its seat at the Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna, in a conclave of the former Herrenhaus chamber of the Imperial Council (Reichsrat).

Role

As the Constitution of Austria (B-VG) draws a strict distinction between federal and state legislation, its Article 42 provides the Bundesrat only with the right to veto federal laws passed by the National Council. Morevover in most cases a Federal Council's veto is just suspensive, meaning the National Council can override it, passing the law again by ordinary resolution of at least half of its members. Therefore, the decisions of the Bundesrat can only delay legislation.