Surveillance law: BKA judgment puts fundamental rights!
Surveillance law: BKA judgment puts fundamental rights!
The outgoing federal government published a comprehensive "surveillance computation for Germany" on May 2, 2025, which evaluates the powers of the police, the protection of the constitution and public prosecutors in the various federal states. This shows that Berlin has the slightest powers compared to other federal states. The so-called "total authority value" for the capital is only 209 points, while Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria each have the highest values with 259 points. This is evident from the results, which are reported, among other things, by lippewelle.de
The surveillance landscape in Germany is therefore not uniform because the authority values vary in other federal states. Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia with values between 223 and 238 points are located in midfield, while federal states such as Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony have values of 240 and higher. The different legal foundations and norms in the individual countries contribute significantly to this discrepancy. Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria are characterized by strict surveillance standards, which, however, lead to moderate intensity values in use.
debates about surveillance methods
The investigation of the "monitoring computation" also took into account various monitoring methods such as queries of telecommunications traffic data and the secret access to dormant communication. However, there were only limited insights into the practical application of these powers. Many of the types of intervention examined are in the medium heavy area, but communication via online searches and their rarity remains a controversial topic.
There is also special attention to the long -term memory obligations for account details, which are gained in importance, but are rarely addressed both politically and socially. This raises fundamental questions about the previous reform approaches and their effectiveness. Furthermore, the German Lawyers' Association called for the creation of a differentiated order to the ratio of intelligence services and law enforcement, whereby the monitoring of individual rights must be kept in mind href = "https://anwalttsblatt.anwaltverein.de/de/themen/netzwerk-verein/ueber-samtgesamtechungs-Forschungsprojekt-Erings"> Anwaltsblatt.anwaltverein.de emphasized.
legal framework and challenges
The Federal Constitutional Court recently decided under what conditions the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) may monitor persons. In this context, it often sees the collection and storage of personal data as unconstitutional, especially if the data affects contact persons from suspects. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and BKA President Holger Münch vehemently defend the existing powers and emphasize their importance in the fight against terrorism.
The judgment, which is considered part of the plaintiffs of the Society for Freedom Rights, could raise far-reaching fundamental questions, while the deadline for a reform of the BKA law is increasing by the end of July 2025. As early as 2016, the Federal Constitutional Court requested improvements to the law, but the legislative reaction was considered inadequate. The discussion about fundamental rights and the need for state security therefore remains of great importance both politically and socially. Details can also be found in the reporting of DetailsQuellen