(2) The members of the Bundesrat and of the Federal Government as well as the persons commissioned by them shall have access to all meetings of the Bundestag and its committees. They must be heard at any time.
Article 44
(1) The Bundestag shall have the right and, upon the motion of one-fourth of its members, the obligation to set up an investigating committee, which shall take the necessary evidence in public proceedings. The public may be excluded.
(2) The provisions relating to criminal procedure shall apply appropriately to the investigations. Secrecy of the mail, post and telecommunications shall remain unaffected.
(3) The courts and administrative authorities shall be obliged to provide legal and official assistance.
(4) The decisions of the investigating committees shall not be subject to judicial review. The courts shall be free to evaluate and judge the facts on which the investigation is based.
Article 45
(1) The Bundestag shall appoint a Standing Committee which shall safeguard the rights of the Bundestag vis-à-vis the Federal Government in the interval between two electoral periods. The Standing Committee shall also have the rights of an investigating committee.
(2) Wider powers, in particular the right to legislate, to elect the Federal Chancellor and to impeach the Federal President, shall not be within the province of the Standing Committee.
Article 46
(1) A deputy may at no time be subject to legal or disciplinary action or otherwise be called to account outside the Bundestag be cause of his vote or any utterance in the Bundestag or in one of its committees. This shall not apply in the case of defamatory insults.
(2) A deputy may be called to account or arrested for a punish-
