(1) A member shall lose his or her membership of the German Bundestag
1. if the attainment of membership is invalid,
2. if the election result is newly established,
3. if he or she fails to meet one of the prerequisites for permanent eligibility for election,
4. if he or she resigns,
5. if the Federal Constitutional Court finds, in accordance with Article 21 (2), sentence 2 of the Basic Law, that the party or party branch of which the member has membership is unconstitutional.
Any grounds for loss of membership as laid down in other statutory provisions shall not be affected.
(2) A member whose election in the constituency is invalid shall nevertheless retain his or her membership of the German Bundestag if he or she was at the same time elected on a Land list but was disregarded pursuant to Article 6 (4), sentence 3.
(3) Resignation shall only be effective if it is declared in writing to the President of the German Bundestag, to a German notary whose seat is within the area of application of this Law, or to a member of a German mission abroad who is authorized to authenticate documents. The member must transmit the declaration of resignation attested by a notary or presented to a mission abroad to the President of the Bundestag. The resignation shall be irrevocable.
(4) If a party or party branch is declared unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court in accordance with Article 21 (2), sentence 2 of the Basic Law, the members shall lose their membership of the German Bundestag, and their successors on the list shall lose their candidacy if they have been members of that party or party branch during the period between the filing of the application (Article 43 of the Law on the Federal Constitutional Court) and the pronouncement of the decision (Article 46 of the Law on the Federal Constitutional Court). If members who have lost their membership in accordance with sentence 1 above have been elected in constituencies, the election of a constituency member shall be repeated in such constituencies, with Article 44 (2) to (4) applicable as appropriate; in these cases, the members who have lost their membership in accordance with sentence 1 above shall not be allowed to candidate. If members who have lost their membership in accordance with sentence 1 above have been elected on the basis of a Land list of the party or party branch declared unconstitutional, their seats shall remain vacant. Otherwise, Article 48 (1) shall apply.
