In Germany, there are over 1,700 laws and 2,700 statutory instruments in force at federal level. The Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ) and the Federal Office of Justice (BfJ) are responsible for publishing the laws and statutory instruments in force. Until now, this has been done in the printed Federal Law Gazette (published by Bundesanzeiger Verlag) and – in a non-official version – on the website www.bgbl.de. On 1 January 2023, the new digital publication platform – or the new electronic Federal Law Gazette – went live at www.recht.bund.de. All publications and official notices at federal level can now be searched for and viewed there free of charge in digital form on the internet. Materna successfully designed the new publication platform from a technical perspective, based on the technical specifications provided by the Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ) and the IMTB, and implemented it using the Government Site Builder (GSB).
To make this possible, the Bundestag had paved the way by deciding that, from the new year onwards, all federal laws and regulations must be published online in electronic form. To this end, Article 82 of the Basic Law was amended and the existing Act on the Publication of Laws and Notices was revised. The switch to an electronic Federal Law Gazette saves up to 2.5 kilometres’ worth of paper annually, speeds up the promulgation process and the underlying procedures, and creates greater transparency for citizens regarding legislation.
All promulgations and notices will in future be available on the new platform. The new electronic Federal Law Gazette has been designed to be responsive and user-friendly, ensuring it can also be used easily on smartphones and tablets. As before, all publications are divided into Federal Law Gazette One and Two.
Powerful search function
At the heart of the new platform is a powerful search function that allows users to search, for example, for specific terms, subject areas or FNA numbers (references). The search function presents the results clearly, showing all content and metadata, such as the responsible ministry, date of issue and date of publication. The embedded reader makes the content and annexes available for reading. Users can also download and print the PDF documents from their search results. Furthermore, users can subscribe to a newsletter service that provides daily updates on new publications.
As part of the design phase, requirements analysis workshops were held to develop, for example, the navigation structures, designs, content modules and search specifications. Materna then implemented the new platform using the Government Site Builder, the Federal Government’s content management solution.
The new electronic Official Gazette is technically operated by the Federal Information Technology Centre (ITZBund). The platform represents an important milestone in the context of the federal government’s service consolidation and is supervised by the Federal Ministry of Justice.
The new platform is closely linked to the ‘E-Legislation’ initiative and the restructuring of the legal information system, with the aim of achieving a seamless workflow within the legislative cycle at federal level.
Distinction between www.recht.bund.de and www.gesetze-im-internet.de
The new electronic Federal Law Gazette at www.recht.bund.de is the federal government’s official publication organ for federal laws and statutory instruments. It also serves as the federal government’s publication organ in cases where official announcements in the Federal Law Gazette are required by law. In addition to the electronic Federal Law Gazette, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Federal Office of Justice provide consolidated versions of laws and statutory instruments for interested members of the public at www.gesetze-im-internet.de.
