U.S. Supreme Court
The German and the U.S. system for selecting a new Supreme Court justice vary significantly.
The U.S. system for selecting a new Supreme Court justice is simple. When a spot on the Supreme Court opens up, the sitting president is entitled to nominate a new Supreme Court judge. The Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings and takes a vote on whether to pass the nomination on to the Senate. If a majority in the Senate vote in favor of the nomination, the president can then formally appoint the nominee.
In Germany, a committee of 12 members representing all parties in Parliament selects a nominee behind closed doors. The parties take turns in proposing candidates, a mechanism that ensures even smaller parties with as little as 5 percent of popular support can propose a nominee every few years, usually without facing resistance from the government.
A two-thirds majority of Parliament is needed to confirm a nominee, which requires broad consensus between parties and usually ends up empowering moderate candidates. Given Germany’s multiparty system, no party in the country’s modern history has ever had a two-thirds majority in Parliament and, thus, the final say over a Supreme Court nomination.
U.S. Supreme Court
The German and the U.S. system for selecting a new Supreme Court justice vary significantly.
The U.S. system for selecting a new Supreme Court justice is simple. When a spot on the Supreme Court opens up, the sitting president is entitled to nominate a new Supreme Court judge. The Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings and takes a vote on whether to pass the nomination on to the Senate. If a majority in the Senate vote in favor of the nomination, the president can then formally appoint the nominee.
In Germany, a committee of 12 members representing all parties in Parliament selects a nominee behind closed doors. The parties take turns in proposing candidates, a mechanism that ensures even smaller parties with as little as 5 percent of popular support can propose a nominee every few years, usually without facing resistance from the government.
A two-thirds majority of Parliament is needed to confirm a nominee, which requires broad consensus between parties and usually ends up empowering moderate candidates. Given Germany’s multiparty system, no party in the country’s modern history has ever had a two-thirds majority in Parliament and, thus, the final say over a Supreme Court nomination.
Filterung nach Lernressourcen
