\n<\/p>\n
BERLIN (AP) \u2014 German lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation designed to protect the country’s highest court against possible future manipulation or obstruction by authoritarian or extremist politicians.<\/p>\n
Officials have cited experiences in Poland, Hungary and elsewhere as illustrating the need to bolster the Federal Constitutional Court. The measure was drawn up<\/a> by the three parties in the governing coalition that collapsed last month<\/a> and the mainstream conservative opposition.<\/p>\n In what is expected to be one of its last sessions before it is dissolved ahead of an early election<\/a> in February, parliament’s lower house, or Bundestag, backed the plan by 600 votes to 69.<\/p>\n See for yourself \u2014 The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The legislation is set to anchor the court\u2019s ground rules in the constitution. That means a two-thirds parliamentary majority would be required to change them in the future, rather than a simple majority.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see when we look abroad that, when autocrats come to power, they almost always first turn against the effectiveness and independence of justice,\u201d Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told lawmakers.<\/p>\n She named no countries, but backers have pointed to Poland in particular as a cautionary tale. That country\u2019s former nationalist conservative government moved to establish control over the Constitutional Tribunal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s Federal Constitutional Court, based in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe, is frequently called on to act as the ultimate arbiter<\/a> over policy.<\/p>\n It has two panels of eight judges each, who serve a single 12-year term. Those requirements are to be anchored in the constitution, as are the upper age limit of 68 for justices and other rules.<\/p>\nTrusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox<\/h4>\n