Germany: "Internal security" laws: moral panic and election campaigns
01 March 1994
Since 1980 the German Penal and Penal Procedural Law has undergone about 30 changes introducing new offences, increasing punishment for some offences, and, most importantly, giving greater powers to the police and prosecution agencies. In addition new regulations for the secret services were introduced in 1990 and new police laws for the Lands (regions). Despite all of these changes a new wave of proposed internal security bills have been produced by the political parties in the context of the 1994 election campaign. Both the government (conservatives and liberals) and the social democratic opposition (SPD) are basing their election campaigns on the supposed danger of organised crime which has been the main justification for increased police powers over the past few years.
Bugging
In 1992 the first "Law against illicit drug traffic and other forms of organised crime" was passed by the two chambers of the federal government (Bundestag - Commons, Bundesrat - representing the Lnder governments) with the support of the SPD. The law not only introduced "money laundering" as a new offence but also legalised a range of proactive police methods: informers, undercover agents, long term observation, police electronic surveillance, and computer matching. The law gave police practices a legal basis in the penal procedural code - the results of surveillance can now be used in court where previously they were sometimes restricted.
Almost immediately the then Minister of the Interior, Rudolf Seiters, declared that these new surveillance techniques would not be good enough to combat organised crime. He called for new powers of bugging, and legitimating crimes committed by police undercover agents. Bugging has been introduced as a police method in most of the Land police codes, but the information gained cannot be used in court. This would require a new law and a restriction being placed on the inviolability of people's homes which is guaranteed in Article 13 of the constitution. To amend the constitution requires a two-thirds majority of the MPs and therefore needs the support not just of the governing parties but also of parts of the SPD. The party conference of the SPD has accepted the need for this change but the government's coalition partners the Free Democrats have, so far, not.
With both sides in the election trying to present themselves as the toughest defenders of internal security, with little consideration of the civil liberties implications, the situation has become quite confused. The SPD has presented a bill for a Second Law against organised crime including bugging whereas the government coalition has presented a "Crime Fighting Bill 1994" without bugging.
Crime Fighting Bill 1994
The Bill is presented as a measure to combat mass delinquency, political extremism and organised crime. It covers:
- restrictions on the evidence which can be presented to speed up court proceedings; immediate imprisonment to avoid the repetition of offences in cases of serious physical injury and arson (apparently to repress neo-nazi and racist attacks);
- widening offences for which convicted foreigners can be deported (eg: drug dealing and use); foreigners who have been deported (generally for having entered illegally or staying without a visa) will not be able to get a visa for five years (even if they fulfil all the required conditions); smuggling foreigners into the country or presenting a false asylum application will become criminal offences and if committed through an organised group will be punishable with from 6 months (minimum) up to 10 years in prison (and the police will be empowered to use telephone tapping against a suspected person);
- the offences under 1992 law regarding the forfeiture of assets is to be broadened to include those associated with organised crime; crown witnesses can also appear in court in these cases (previously they were restricted to drug trafficking a