German Bundesrat votes for Unified Patent Court

As will be recalled, the Bundestag, the Lower House of German Parliament, already approved the ratification bill for the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) with a comfortable majority on 26 November 2020.

Today, 18 December 2020, the Bundesrat, the Upper House of German Parliament has, in its 998th meeting, also passed the ratification bill of the UPC. For more information (in German), see BundesratKOMPAKT.

According to Article 82 I 1 of the Basic Law, the laws that have come into being in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law are drawn up by the Federal President after countersigning and published in the Federal Law Gazette.

Thus, as a next step, the Federal President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has to execute the bill. The execution involves a right to, and an obligation of, formal and substantive inspection of the bill, without right to political examination.

To be continued...