© Reuters / Michaela RehleFile photo: Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) headquarters in Pullach near Munich, Germany
The court hearing was lobbied by journalists and civil rights groups, including the NGO Reporters Without Borders. The concerns raised centred around the vagueness and broadness of the legislation, which allowed BND agents to engage in the strategic surveillance of foreigners abroad - which had the potential to impede press freedoms, according to the plaintiffs.
A law introduced in early 2017 expanded the powers of the BND and essentially made it legal for it to spy on foreign nationals, without the need to prove sufficient reasons for suspicion or provide legal justification for doing so.
Der Spiegel later reported on the alleged interception of dozens of emails, faxes and phone calls - it claimed that this surveillance extended to the BBC, Reuters and the New York Times and had been taking place since 1999. It also reported that the agency monitored at least 50 journalists, according to a BND contact list that was leaked three years ago.
This is the first time that the BND has been officially brought under the German constitution after critics claimed that there was a lack of effective political oversight of the organisation. It now has until the end of 2021 to change its practices in compliance with the law.
Reader Comments
For example, Merkel and her accomplices have sided with the position of the ECJ, against the ruling of the German constitutional court, about the supposed legality of the dodgy actions of the ECB in making loans and purchasing national bonds of other Eurozone countries.
Merkel and her ruling party would rather continue unethical/illegal banking practices in order to keep the Eurozone from falling apart than to abide by the decisions of her own Supreme Court.
The latest case was the negotiations of the common debt in the EU. In the first round Germany was not pleased of the offer. So "suddenly" appeared a court decision that this kind of debt is totally unconstitutional. Then they agreed of common debt so that half of the money goes to Germany. -- No it is suddenly all legal!
in Germanywork for the government. Not for the people."FIFY
Of course, every now and then, a case will be decided in favor of the people and against the government, but, overall, this is true everywhere, no matter the type of gov't,