The joint committee consists of members of the Bundestag (two-thirds) and members of the Bundesrat (one third). Each Land may appoint any member of the Bundesrat that it wishes to represent it in the committee, but unlike in the Bundesrat, where states may give instructions on voting on each matter to its respective delegations, each state cannot give binding instructions to its representative in the Gemeinsamer Ausschuss. The powers of the joint committee are restricted in such a way that they cannot be abused to exploit the special circumstances to abolish the constitutional order.