EN
The Federal Council (Bundesrat) is one of the main public authorities in Germany. It is one of the four federal public authorities, which – in accordance with the listing included in the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), are Bundestag, Bundesrat, Bundespräsident and Bundesregierung. Their exceptional status results from the fact that their competences are explicite listed in the Basic Law, not – as in the case of other public authorities – in ordinary law. As the Federal Council is one of the main public authorities, it cannot be understood at the same time as a part of another authority. It is an enormous institutional misunderstanding to present the Bundesrat as the second or higher chamber of the German parliament.