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Highlights of Policy
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CONTROL COUNCIL Legislation

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   SINCE its inception, the Allied Control Authority, in emplementation of the Potsdam Agreement, has enacted in unanimous agreement sixteen Directives, three proclamations, five Laws, and one Order. In one of the most significant experiments in international co-operation ever to be attempted (and more difficult of achieving success from an administrative point of view because of the requirement for unanimous assent) this record, which at first glance seems like a relatively thin file of papers, is in fact a remarkably comprehensive achievement.

METHODS OF LEGISLATION

   The definitions of the five types of legislation (set forth in Directive No. 11) by inference further define the broad scope of the powers and interests of the Control Authority. They are:

   Proclamations: "to be issued to announce matters or acts of special importance to the occupying powers or to the German people, or both." Three have thus far been issued. The first announced to the German people the establishment of the Control Council, and the second is an assertion of the supreme authority defined in the first, outlining the extent of control which the Council had assumed. The third defines the fundamental principles of judicial reform, setting forth the thesis of equality before the law, the guaranties of the right of the accused, and the independence of the judiciary. This
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[[boxed content]] The Up-To-Date Record of the Allied Control Council [[/boxed content]]

proclamation also provides for the liquidation of extraordinary Hitler courts.

   Laws: "to be enacted on matters of general application, unless they expressly provide otherwise." Five have thus far been enacted. Law No. 1 was the Law Repealing Nazi Laws; No. 2, the Law Providing for the Termination and Liquidation of the Nazi Organizations; No. 3, the Law on the Increase in the Rates of Taxation; No. 4, the Law for the Reorganization of the German Judicial System, and No. 5, the Law for the Vesting and Marshalling of German External Assets.

   Orders: "to be issued in other cases when the Control Council has requirements to impose on Germany and when laws are not used." One has been issued to date, prohibiting the wearing of the uniform by disbanded personnel of the former German armed forces.
   Instructions: "to be issued in cases when the Control Council wishes to impose requirements direct upon a particular authority."

   Directives: "to communicate policy or administrative decisions of the Control Council." The first six, and the eighth, deal with the activation of the Control Council's machinery (which is described in detail in issue
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