Germany has adopted a corporatist approach to the interaction between public and private interests, and requires that ‘all groups and organisations wishing to express defend their interests before the Bundestag or the Federal government be entered in a register’.
(1) The President of the Bundestag shall keep a public list in which all associations of trade and industry representing interests vis-a-vis the Bundestag or the Federal Government shall be entered.
(2) Their representatives shall be heard only if they have entered themselves in this list, furnishing the following information:
- name and seat of the association;
- composition of the board of management and the board of directors;
- sphere of interest of the association;
- number of members;
- names of the association’s representatives; and
- address of its office
As is the case with most countries with a formal system, the purpose of a register is to collect information about which interest groups are active in the German Parliament. The regulation is not comprehensive, in that the Bundestag may invite non-registered associations or experts to meetings as they deem appropriate (Malone 2004: 13).
Another interesting feature of the German system is the emphasis given to national and peak associations. This practice is formalised by Article 23 of the General Rules of Procedure of the Federal Government which emphasises that ministries should only co-operate with national federations that operate across states. There is also a consultative preference for peak associations which is confirmed in interviews with public servants (Ronit and Schneider 1998: 563). Such a system hinders the development of professional lobbyists as interests have protected access through their own representations.
