Oral hearing in the proceedings concerning the “Number of Staff Posted Abroad by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution” on 22 March 2022 at 2 p.m.

Press Release No. 17/2022 of 24 February 2022

Reference: 2 BvE 8/21

The Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court will conduct an oral hearing on

Tuesday, 22 March 2022, 2:00 p.m.,
in the courtroom of the Federal Constitutional Court,
Schlossbezirk 3, 76131 Karlsruhe

regarding an application in Organstreit proceedings (proceedings relating to disputes between constitutional organs) filed by a member of the German Bundestag. The respondent in the Organstreit proceedings is the Federal Government. The proceedings concern the issue whether the Federal Government violated the applicant’s rights under Article 38(1) second sentence of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz – GG) by refusing to provide the information that he had requested in writing on 9 December 2020 in the form of Query Number 32 of the Second Week of December  (Bundestag document 19/25159, pp. 24-25).

Background:
The applicant is a member of the German Bundestag. With his application in the principal proceedings, he challenges the respondent’s refusal to answer his parliamentary query of 2 December 2020 regarding the number of staff posted abroad between 2015 and 2019 by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and regarding the Federal Government’s political assessment of these postings. He also challenges the fact that sufficient reasons for the refusal to provide information were not given. The applicant considers the respondent’s refusal to answer his questions a curtailment of his right of inquiry and to information under Art. 38(1) second sentence GG. He submits that in the context of the parliamentary oversight of federal intelligence services, the interest in obtaining information is particularly weighty. He further submits that the respondent’s refusal to answer his questions is already unconstitutional on account of the merely formulaic response lacking any specific substantiation.

The respondent counters that the Federal Government was entitled to refuse providing information on the number of staff posted abroad by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. It further submits that it gave sufficient reasons for the refusal to provide information as well as for the fact that it did not make available any information at the Bundestag’s Document Security Office (the designated site for in-person access to secret documents). It contends that the requested numbers would make it possible to draw particular inferences on the capabilities and priorities of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The respondent therefore claims to be justified in not answering the query, at least not outside of the scope of the Parliamentary Oversight Panel.

The outline of the oral hearing can be accessed here.

Information for the general public

Persons wishing to attend the oral hearing or the pronouncement of the judgment must register at the following address: 

Mr Stadtler
Postfach 1771, 76006 Karlsruhe, Germany
Phone: +49 721 9101-400
Fax: +49 721 9101-461
Email: besucherdienst@bundesverfassungsgericht.de

When registering, please provide your name, first name, date of birth and contact data (a phone or fax number or an email address). Please refer to the Federal Constitutional Court’s data protection statement for information on the protection of personal data (Arts. 13 and 14 GDPR) in the context of visitor registration. The data protection statement is available on the Federal Constitutional Court’s website under the heading “Data protection statement”. You may also request a paper copy of the data protection statement.

Seats will be allocated in the order in which registrations are received.

Hygiene and physical distancing rules

In order to reduce to a minimum any health risks relating to the current spread of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the following specific rules apply in respect of the aforementioned oral hearing:

Access to the Federal Constitutional Court building is subject to the “3G” rule (proof of vaccination or recovery; a PCR test taken max. 48 hrs prior, an antigen test max. 24 hrs prior).

Verification of compliance will be conducted upon entry. If none of the above requirements are fulfilled, access to the building will be denied. Should you wish to be tested in Karlsruhe, test sites are listed on http://corona.karlsruhe.de/ under “Teststellen”.

Please note that masks (surgical or FFP2) must be worn in the building. They may be removed at your assigned seat in the courtroom of the Federal Constitutional Court.

For the rest, the Order of the President of the Federal Constitutional Court of 1 December 2021 applies.

Accreditation requirements for journalists
Accreditation

The accreditation procedure starts when this press release is published and ends on Thursday, 17 March 2022 at 12:00 noon. After this deadline, accreditation is no longer possible.

Please use the form provided for accreditation requests. The form must be filled in completely and signed. If applicable, a copy of the valid press card must be enclosed; this is only necessary for the first accreditation during the card’s term of validity. The accreditation request may be sent by email to presse@bundesverfassungsgericht.de. Accreditation requests sent to any other email addresses or fax numbers of the Court will not be considered.

Members of the Justizpressekonferenz Karlsruhe e.V. may send their accreditation requests to the Federal Constitutional Court’s press office without having to use the form.

Accreditation requests will be considered in the order in which they are received. If requests are received simultaneously, accreditation is awarded by drawing lots. A few days after the expiry of the deadline, the Federal Constitutional Court will notify the applicants by email whether their accreditation was successful.

Please refer to the Federal Constitutional Court’s data protection statement for information on the protection of personal data (Arts. 13 and 14 GDPR) in the context of the accreditation procedure. The data protection statement is available on the Federal Constitutional Court’s website under the heading “Data protection statement”. You may also request a paper copy of the data protection statement.

Availability and allocation of seats

Due to current measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, only a total of 29 seats are available for media representatives in the press galleries inside and outside the courtroom. There are no seat reservations: each seat is allocated to whoever takes their place first. If media representatives are unable to find a seat in the press gallery, they may follow the oral hearing/the pronouncement of the judgment from the press room or – if seats are still available – from the courtroom itself.

The press room provides an audio transmission from the courtroom. It contains 18 workstations on desks; a limited number of power outlets for laptops is provided. The Court cannot guarantee the availability of a mobile phone signal and data networks.

Additional rules in the courtroom

Making phone calls, tweeting or sending other messages, accessing digital data and any other use of the Internet within or from the courtroom is not permitted. Allelectronic devices that can be used for these purposes – in particular mobile phones, laptop computers and tablet computers – may not be used in the courtroom. Media representatives may obtain permission to use computers in offline mode in the press gallery if it is ensured that the devices are not used for audio or image recording or for data transmission.

Taking photos and filming; pooling

1. Taking photos and recording audio or video is permitted until the presiding Justice has established the presence of the parties to the proceedings. Afterwards, photographers and camera teams must leave the courtroom level (including the foyer outside the courtroom and the press gallery). They may wait in the reception room on the first floor. Pronouncements of judgments may be recorded in their entirety.

2. Media pools will be set up for taking photos and filming in the courtroom. Two television teams (a public and a private television station with a maximum of three cameras each) and six photographers (four agency photographers and two freelance photographers) will be admitted to the building. The pool representatives are required to supply their photos and video recordings to other radio and television stations and to photo agencies upon request.

Willingness to be a pool representative must be explicitly stated in the accreditation request. Pool representatives are appointed according to the order in which the accreditation requests are received. If requests are received simultaneously, lots are drawn. The television stations, agencies and photographers that serve as pool representatives are free in determining the members of their teams.

3. When taking photographs and filming in the courtroom, it must be ensured that the Justices have an unobstructed view in all directions. Entering the area behind the Justices’ bench is not permitted. Instructions to this effect by court staff must be complied with. Taking photos and filming is only permitted with low-noise devices and without a flash.

4. After the end of the oral hearing or the pronouncement of the judgment and during the lunch break, the parties to the proceedings or other individuals may only be interviewed, filmed or photographed in the reception room on the first floor and in the foyer on the ground floor.

Vehicles of technicians, radio and television crews

Only a limited number of parking spaces is available for SNG vehicles, editing vehicles and OB vans. If accredited journalists require parking space, this must be indicated along with the accreditation request on the form provided. Parking spaces are allocated in the order in which requests are received. The following information is required for the allocation of parking space: number plate, vehicle type, make, dimensions (length x width x height in metres), weight and, if applicable, whether access to a power outlet is needed.

The names, dates of birth, and ID card numbers of the technicians, as well as the vehicle data, may be submitted after the accreditation request. The form provided must be used. This also applies to media organisations represented by members of the Justizpressekonferenz. The form must be sent by email to presse@bundesverfassungsgericht.de no later than 12:00 noon on Monday, 21 March 2022.

Media representatives with allocated parking space may set up their equipment on the day before the oral hearing between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., and on the day of the oral hearing or the pronouncement of the judgment between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.

Setting up studios

The press office must be consulted in advance if media representatives wish to set up a studio. The only spaces available for this purpose are the press reception room on the first floor and the foyer on the ground floor.

This information is based on § 17a of the Federal Constitutional Court Act in conjunction with the supplementary provisions laid down by the Federal Constitutional Court.