Joint Report on Legal Review in the Field of Internal Security Oversight in Germany A Contribution to the Project "Improvement of Civilian Oversight of Internal Security in Turkey" by Prof. Dr. Bernhard Frevel Dr. Frank Braun Dr. Vanessa Luczak University of Applied Science for Public Administration and Management of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Münster, December 2014 Content Preface ......................................................................................................................................... 5 1. Legal and Institutional System in Germany – An Overview (Bernhard Frevel) .................... 6 2. Police and Policing in Germany (Bernhard Frevel) ............................................................... 8 2.1 The federal level ............................................................................................................ 8 2.2 The state level ................................................................................................................ 9 2.3 The local level .............................................................................................................. 11 2.4 Borderlines of Police in the Security System ............................................................... 12 3. Institutional Oversight Principles (Bernhard Frevel) ......................................................... 14 3.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Policing, the supremacy of law and liberty rights ........................................................ 15 3.3 Summary of institutional oversight principles ............................................................. 16 4. Parliamentary control of Internal Security (Bernhard Frevel) ............................................ 19 4.1 Overview ....................................................................................................................... 19 4.2 Oversight by parliament .............................................................................................. 21 4.2.1 Assistance of parliamentary oversight by independent agencies ......................... 23 4.2.2 Relationship of Parliament and Government ....................................................... 24 4.3 Summary: Oversight Powers of Parliament ................................................................. 25 5. Judicial Oversight Mechanisms in Germany (Frank Braun) ............................................... 31 5.1 Overview ....................................................................................................................... 31 5.2 Judicial Oversight ......................................................................................................... 32 5.2.1 Courts functions and Independence Guaranteed in the Constitution ................... 32 5.2.2 Judicial Courts Oversight ........................................................................................ 33 5.2.3. Aggravated sanctions ............................................................................................ 34 5.2.4 Oversight Powers over police investigators ........................................................... 34 5.2.5. Special Accreditation ............................................................................................ 36 5.2.6 Privileges or restrictions concerning court procedures ......................................... 37 5.2.7 Administrative Courts Oversight ............................................................................ 37 5.3 Summary: Judicial Oversight Mechanisms ................................................................... 38 6. Structure, remits and oversight functions of Ministries of Interior (Vanessa Luczak) ........ 42 6.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 42 6.2 Territorial organization of ISF ....................................................................................... 45 6.3 The federation and the states ....................................................................................... 45 1 6.4 Budgetary control of MoI .............................................................................................. 45 6.4.1 Budgetary organization .......................................................................................... 45 6.4.2 Budgetary Procedure ............................................................................................. 46 6.5 Heads of ISF .................................................................................................................. 46 6.6 Policy formulation/daily work orientation .................................................................... 47 6.7 Summary: Structure, remits and oversight functions of Ministries of Interior ............. 47 7. Internal Oversight Mechanisms (Vanessa Luczak) ............................................................. 52 7.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 52 7.2 Audit system, disciplinary powers and disciplinary level systems ................................ 55 7.3 Procedure to cope with complaints about police ......................................................... 55 7.4 Disciplinary sanction regime ......................................................................................... 56 7.5 Summary: Internal Oversight Mechanisms ................................................................... 57 8. Oversight on regional and local level (Vanessa Luczak) ..................................................... 62 8.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 62 8.2 Local representation of government ............................................................................ 63 8.3 The meaning of local councils and the private sector .................................................. 63 8.4 Public reports ................................................................................................................ 64 8.5 Summary: Oversight of Governors ............................................................................... 64 9. Independent External Oversight Mechanisms (Frank Braun) ............................................ 66 9.1 Overview ....................................................................................................................... 66 9.2 Independent External Oversight ................................................................................... 67 9.2.1. Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information ......................... 67 9.2.2 National Agency for the Prevention of Torture ..................................................... 68 9.2.3 Prisons/Detention Centres manages by ISFs ......................................................... 68 9.3 Summary: Independent External Oversight Mechanisms ............................................ 69 10. Citizens, NGOs and Local Authorities Engagement into Security Policies (Bernhard Frevel) ........................................................................................................................ 72 10.1 Overview .................................................................................................................... 72 10.2 Internal security on the local level .............................................................................. 73 10.2.1 Partnerships and local security ........................................................................... 74 10.2.2 Involvement of citizens and non-statutory partners .......................................... 74 10.3 Summary: Mechanisms for Citizen and Local Authorities Engagement ..................... 75 11. Other Legal Arrangements and Considerations in Relation to Civilian Oversight (Frank Braun) ............................................................................................................................. 79 11.1 Overview ..................................................................................................................... 79 2 11.2 Other Legal Arrangements in Relation to Civilian Oversight ...................................... 79 11.2.1 Video Surveillance ................................................................................................ 79 11.2.2 Right to collective Interest representation .......................................................... 81 11.3 Summary: Other Legal Arrangements and Considerations in Relation to Civilian Oversight ................................................................................................................................ 81 References ................................................................................................................................. 84 Annex ......................................................................................................................................... 87 1. Modell of internal security institutions in the political system of Germany with horizontal and vertical division of power (Frevel 2008: 112) ................................................. 87 2. Excerpt from “Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany” (German Constitutional Law) 88 3. Structure of Police ........................................................................................................