State of Defence ( Germany ) The term State of Defence ( in German : Verteidigungsfall or V - Fall ) refers to the legal status of the Federal Republic of Germany if it is " " under attack by armed force or imminently threatened with such an attack " " . This special status , which was created by a constitutional amendment in 1968 , gives the Federal Government extraordinary powers in the case of war . It is laid down in the articles 115a to 115l ( Title Xa ) of the German Constitution . As of 2013 , Germany has never been in the State of Defence . Declaration . According to article 115a of the German Constitution , the State of Defence shall be declared if " " the federal territory [ of the Federal Republic of Germany ] is under attack by armed force or imminently threatened with such an attack " " . The normal procedure is that , upon request of the Federal Government , the Bundestag determines that the conditions of the State of Defence exist . That means that the Bundestag does not actually declare the State of Defence ; instead , it just decides whether it exists or not . ( If e . g . a foreign army invaded Germany , the Bundestag would determine that this action is an " " attack by armed force " " as described in article 115a and that consequently Germany " is " in the State of Defence . ) This determination by the Bundestag requires a two - third majority of the votes of those members of parliament present at that time ( at least 50 % of the MPs have to be present to reach a quorum ) . It also has to be approved by the Bundesrat with an absolute ( i . e . more than 50 % ) majority of " all " of its members ( which according to general Bundesrat protocol are given in bundled form by each Land ) . If the Bundestag or the Bundesrat are not able to convene in time or not able to reach a quorum , the " Joint Committee " decides on their behalf . If Germany is under attack by armed force and neither the Bundestag and the Bundesrat nor the Joint Committee are able to determine the State of Defence immediately , " " the determination shall be deemed to have been made and promulgated at the time the attack began " " . ( If , for example , an invasion started on January 4 at 4 : 17 a . m . , Germany would be in the State of Defence from January 4 , 4 : 17 a . m . on , and the government could react without having to wait for the consent of the parliament . ) Consequences . Shifting of power of command . According to article 115b GG , the Federal Chancellor becomes Commander - in - chief of the armed forces . ( Normally , the Minister of Defence holds this post . ) Extension of federal legislative powers . According to article 115c GG , the federation has extended legislative powers : Additionally , the normal legislative procedure is replaced by a faster one : Joint Committee . The " Joint Committee " ( Gemeinsamer Ausschuss ) consists of members of the Bundestag and members of the Bundesrat . Two - thirds of the committee members are provided by the Bundestag and one third are provided by the Bundesrat . The committee members of the Bundestag are designated by the Bundestag " " in proportion to the relative strength of the various parliamentary groups " " . Every state is represented by a Bundesrat member . The committee members of the Bundestag must not be members of the government , the committee members of the Bundesrat are " " not bound by instructions " " That means that the Joint Committee consists of 16 members of the Bundesrat ( one for each state ) , and 32 members of the Bundestag ( twice the number of Bundesrat members ) , giving it a total number of 48 members . The members of the Joint Committee and their deputies are already designated during peacetime . The Joint Committee takes over the tasks of both the Bundestag " and " the Bundesrat if , during a state of defence , it determines , with a two - thirds majority of its vote , that either the Bundestag or the Bundesrat are not able to convene in time or are not able to reach a quorum . This majority must include at least a majority of all committee members ( i . e . at least 25 members ) . This rule is important when not all committee members are available : If e . g . only 30 committee members could be reached , 20 votes would be a two - thirds majority ; however , at least 25 votes would be required for the determination . If the Joint Committee is not able to reach full strength ( 48 members ) , the Bundestag ( in case of missing or dead Bundestag committee members ) and / or the state governments ( in case of missing or dead Bundesrat committee members ) designate new committee members . The Joint Committee takes over any task normally dealt by the Bundestag and / or the Bundesrat . All decisions which would normally be made by the either the Bundestag , or the Bundesrat , or both of them , is made by the entire Joint Committee . However , there are some limitations to the power of the Joint Committee ( when compared to Bundestag and Bundesrat ) : The Joint Committee is based on the articles 53a " ( Composition - Rules of procedure ) " and 115e " ( Joint Committee ) " of the constitution , as well as on own rules of procedure . Use of Federal Border Guard . According to article 115f , paragraph ( 1 ) , clause 1 GG , the Federal Government may employ the Federal Border Guard throughout the federal territory , i . e . everywhere in Germany . When the Emergency Acts were passed , the Federal Border Guard was a paramilitary police force responsible only for the protection of West Germany ' s external land and sea borders . Over the decades , however , the role of the Federal Border Guard , and even its name , changed - today the Federal Police is also responsible for the security of the railway network , provides airport security and protects federal buildings . But as the entire title Xa was never changed after it had been passed in 1968 , the term " Federal Border Guard " is still used in the constitution . Extended powers of instruction . According to article 115f , paragraph ( 1 ) , clause 2 GG , the Federal Government may issue instructions to state governments and state authorities . ( Normally , state governments act on their own and state authorities receive their orders only from the state government ) . Extended electoral terms . According to article 115h GG , electoral terms that would expire during the state of defence are extended : Conscription . In 2011 the German Conscription Act was changed to abolish peacetime conscription . Effective from July 1 conscripts may only be drafted during the state of tension or state of defence . Termination . According to article 115l GG , the state of defence ends when it is declared terminated by the Bundestag . The Bundestag declares the state of defence to be terminated , " if the conditions for determining it no longer exist " , e . g . after a peace treaty has been signed .