Rightly in the wrong? The Use of Confidential Informations by Intelligence Services
PhD student: Jonas Barthle, M.A.
The protection of the free democratic basic order is of central importance in the activities of the security authorities. Especially in times of political as well as social upheaval, the role of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and its public relations work is repeatedly questioned critically. The aim of the dissertation is a comprehensive analysis of the various aspects of this complex subject area.
In the first part of the thesis, the historical development and structure of the offices for the protection of the constitution as a whole is examined, and the public relations work of these offices and their subordinate interior ministries is examined. In this context, differences between the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, federal states with independent state offices for the protection of the constitution (e.g., Hesse, cf. Section 1 (1) HVSG) and federal states with departments for the protection of the constitution that are integrated into the ministries of the interior (e.g., North Rhine-Westphalia, cf. Section 2 (1) VSG NRW) are also addressed. This serves as a basis for understanding the institutional mechanisms and political contexts in which public relations work takes place.
The second part focuses on the obligation of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution under Section 16 (1) BVerfSchG to provide information about efforts and activities under Section 3 (1) BVerfSchG. In this context, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution will also take a closer look at the protection of the economy and science, which has been explicitly mentioned since the amendment of the BVerfSchG in 2015. This is one of the main tasks of the Office's preventive counterintelligence activities and primarily involves raising the awareness of and training companies and research and scientific institutions against the risks of illegal know-how transfer (industrial espionage/competitive spying) and against threats from violent extremists.
The third part then deals with the content, goals, effects and legal framework of reports on the protection of the constitution. In particular, it examines the extent to which these reports can function as instruments of a defensible democracy and what legal limits must be observed. Particular attention is paid to the introduction of a new phenomenon area, "delegitimization of the state relevant to constitutional protection." This phenomenon area has gained relevance especially in the context of the protests against the Corona protection measures, as various actors instrumentalized the protest events to pursue an anti-constitutional agenda. The analysis of this area of phenomena serves to further deepen the understanding of the complexity and challenges facing the protection of the constitution today.
The final part of the paper deals with the naming of personal data in the context of public relations. Here, the conflict between the associated encroachment on the personal rights of those affected and the general public's interest in being informed is addressed. In addition, the report discusses the reporting of suspicions, which is now regulated by law in Section 16 (2) and (3) BVerfSchG, and critically examines the existing possibilities for legal protection against mention in public relations.