Loss of Membership of the German Bundestag
(1) A member of the German Bundestag loses his or her Bundestag membership
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 paragraph (4) 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 are not affected.
(2) A member of the German Bundestag whose election in the constituency is invalid nevertheless retains his or her membership of the German Bundestag if he or she was also elected on a Land list but was disregarded pursuant to section 6 subsection (4), second sentence.
(3) A resignation is only considered effective if it is declared for record to the President of the German Bundestag, to a German notary who is established within the territory where this Act applies, or to a staff member of a German mission abroad who is authorised to authenticate documents. The Bundestag member must send the declaration of resignation attested by a notary or presented to a mission abroad to the President of the Bundestag. The resignation is irrevocable.
(4) If a party or party branch is declared unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court in accordance with Article 21 paragraph (4) of the Basic Law, the Bundestag members lose their membership of the German Bundestag, and their successors lose their candidacy if they were members of said party or party branch in the period between the filing of the application (section 43 of the Federal Constitutional Court Act) and the pronouncement of the decision (section 46 of the Federal Constitutional Court Act). If Bundestag members who have lost their Bundestag membership according to the first sentence were elected in constituencies, the election of a constituency representative is repeated in such constituencies, with section 44 subsections (2) to (4) applicable accordingly; in these cases, the Bundestag members who have lost their membership according to the first sentence are not allowed to stand as a candidate. If Bundestag members who have lost their Bundestag membership according to the first sentence were elected on the basis of a Land list of the party or party branch declared unconstitutional, their seats remain vacant. Otherwise, section 48 subsection (1) applies.