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Unification Treaty (August 31, 1990)

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Chapter IX
Transitional and Final Provisions

Article 40
Treaties and Agreements
(1) The obligations under the Treaty of 18 May 1990 between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union shall continue to be valid unless otherwise provided in this Treaty and unless they become irrelevant in the process of establishing German unity.
[ . . . ]

Article 41
Settlement of Property Issues
(1) The Joint Declaration of 15 June 1990 on the Settlement of Open Property Issues (Annex III) issued by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of the German Democratic Republic shall form an integral part of this Treaty.
(2) In accordance with separate legislative arrangements there shall be no return of property rights to real estate or buildings if the real estate or building concerned is required for urgent investment purposes to be specified in detail, particularly if it is to be used for the establishment of an industrial enterprise and the implementation of this investment decision deserves support from a general economic viewpoint above all if it creates or safeguards jobs. [ . . . ]

Article 42
Delegation of Parliamentary Representatives
(1) Before the accession of the German Democratic Republic takes effect, the Volkskammer shall, on the basis of its composition, elect 144 Members of Parliament to be delegated to the 11th German Bundestag together with a sufficient number of reserve members. Relevant proposals shall be made by the parties and groups represented in the Volkskammer. [ . . . ]

Article 45
Entry into Force of the Treaty
(1) This Treaty, including the attached Protocol and Annexes I to III, shall enter into force on the day on which the Governments of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic have informed each other that the internal requirements for such entry into force have been fulfilled.
(2) The Treaty shall remain valid as federal law after the accession has taken effect.


Done at Berlin on 31 August 1990 in duplicate in the German language.

For the Federal Republic of Germany

For the German Democratic Republic

Wolfgang Schäuble

Günther Krause





Source of English translation: The Unification of Germany in 1990 – A Documentation. Published by the Press and Information of the Federal Government, Bonn. April 1991.
© Press and Information of the Federal Government.

Original German text reprinted in Volker Gransow and Konrad Jarausch, eds., Die Deutsche Vereinigung: Dokumente zu Bürgerbewegung, Annäherung und Beitritt [German Reunification: Documents on the Citizens’ Movement, Rapprochement, and Accession]. Cologne: Verlag Wissenschaft und Politik, 1991, pp. 206-19.

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