Federal-State Conference (Germany)
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The Federal-State Conference (officially: "Conference of the Federal Chancellor with the Heads of Government of the States") is an unofficial body of the Federal Government and the federal states that was convened for the first time on 12 March 2020 to coordinate measures under the Infection Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz, IfSG) to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany nationwide.
The Federal-State Conference is not a constitutional body, is not involved in federal or state legislation, and cannot issue legally binding regulations. There is no legal basis for the body. The existence of the Federal-State Conference is indirectly made possible by the Basic Law. The federal government and the states can coordinate on measures that fall within the responsibility of the states. The Basic Law does not exclude this. The implementation of the Infection Protection Act, on the basis of which many measures against the COVID-19 pandemic are being taken, falls within the scope of state administration. The resolutions and agreements made during the conference are political declarations of intent with no legal effect. They must be implemented by the federal government or the states in the form of ordinances or laws (Section 32 IfSG, Article 80 Paragraph 4 GG).