19 March 2010
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The Federal Republic of Germany lies in the heart of Europe. Its nine neighbours are the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark.
The federal constitutional bodies with primarily legislative functions are the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and the Federal Council (Bundesrat). Executive responsibilities lie principally with the Federal Government (Bundesregierung), headed by the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) and the Federal President (Bundespräsident). Judicial functions pertaining to the constitution are performed by the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht). The 16 Federal States are not provinces but states endowed with their own powers. Each has a constitution which must be consistent with the principles embodied in the Basic Law (federal constitution). The Federal States have important jurisdiction, especially in the areas of education and cultural policy in their entirety as a manifestation of their 'cultural sovereignty'. They are also responsible for local government law and the police. The real strength of the Federal States lies in their participation in the legislative process at federal level through the Federal Council. Depending on the size of their population, the states have three to six votes which may only be cast as a block. The Federation may only legislate in such cases where it is necessary to have a uniform law for the whole country. The areas which fall into this category are e.g. for foreign affairs, commercial law, nuclear energy, labour and land law, housing, shipping, road transport, waste disposal, air pollution, noise abatement and statistics.
The maintenance of public security and order is one of the most important tasks of government. In the Federal Republic of Germany it is carried out by the Federal States and the Federal Government. The police are for the most part under the jurisdiction of the States. Only in certain fields does the Basic Law assign responsibility to the Federal Government. Police in the Federal States: The police forces in each of the 16 Federal States are organised differently, because police duties fall within thejurisdiction of the Federal States, as laid down in the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. For the execution of police duties, the Federal State police forces are divided up basically into the following areas, which are more or less the same in all States. The general police forces are mainly concerned with the prevention and prosecution of petty crime. They also include traffic police, the officers with whom the ordinary citizen will most likely come into contact. The C.I.D. (criminal investigation department) is chiefly concerned with serious offences including organized and industrial crime, sexual offences, robbery, blackmail, serious theft, homicide, drug trafficking and the manufacture and passing of counterfeit money. They have special units, in some cases jointly with the general forces, to combat terrorism and hostage-taking, and for surveillance etc. The emergency police/stand-by police, which are deployed as whole units, provide support for the general forces and the C.I.D. during state visits, mass demonstrations, major sporting events, international fairs, and natural disasters. The waterways police control all traffic on waterways and monitor in particular `the transport of dangerous goods. The Air Wings are flying units that can be deployed for tasks such as trafic surveillance and serve as a source of support for local police offices, with a view to both crime prevention and crime suppression. Special weapons and tactics units (Sondereinsatzkommandos) and mobile surveillance units (mobile Einsatzkommandos) are organised and managed differntly in the individual Federal States, and the reasons for deploying them are changing as well. However, in general it can be stated that they are used to deal with cases of very serious crime (special weapons and tactics units) or for special surveillance and search measures (mobile surveillance units). Federal Police Forces: As a federal police force, the Federal Border Guard (Bundesgrenzschutz, BGS) is charged with domestic security tasks. The main task of the Federal Border Guard is to control the country‘s border, which includes checks to prevent the illegal entry of foreigners, organized crime, smuggling and drug trafficking. It also protects key public buildings, such as the office of the Federal President
and the Federal Chancellor, the ministries and the Federal Constitutional Court.
It supports the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) in protecting
VIPs and in carrying out responsibilities on the high seas including environmental
protection. The Guard is also called in during natural disasters and major accidents. Beyond its statutory functions it has carried out international responsibilities, chiefly as part of the police component of UN peace-keeping missions. The services of the Federal Border Guard are directly responsible to the Federal Ministry of the interior and are organised according to their duties:
As a central authority with nationwide jurisdiction, the Border Guard Directorate in Koblenz has supraregional control and co-ordination duties in specific fields. In particular, these are:
The Border Guard Academy in Lübeck is the central academy for basic and advanced training. Within the framework of their regional jurisdiction, the Regional Border Guard Headquarters fulfil all border and railway police duties as well as duties in connection with air traffic security. The Border Guard and Railway Police Offices and other special groups and units (for example the GSG 9, Flying Group and Flying Squadrons) come under the Regional Border Guard Headquarters. The Air Wings are flying units responsible for monitoring external borders. They can also be assigned internal duties such as trafic surveillance or a variety of support functions. A special weapons and tactics unit (Sondereinsatzkommando), the GSG 9 and a mobile surveillance unit (mobiles Einsatzkommando) at the Federal Criminal Police Office can be found at the federal level. The GSG 9 is deployed in cases of extremely violent crime, for example hostage-taking or abduction, terrorist attacks of special significance or that jeorpadise public safety and order, etc. The mobile surveillance unit is responsible for surveillance and search measures involving very serious crime, etc. The Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) is an authority with a current workforce of 4.800 distributed over three locations in the Federal Republic of Germany, Berlin, Meckenheim (near Bonn) and Wiesbaden. As the central agency for police information and intelligence and as the central
agency for the C.I.D., the Federal Criminal Police Office supports the federal
and state (Länder) police forces in the prevention and prosecution of crimes
of a supraregional or international nature or crimes of considerable significance.
This duty comprises the collection and analysis of all required information
and the dissemination of that information to the appropriatelaw enforcement
authorities. In addition to the National Central Bureau for ICPO-Interpol (Interpol Wiesbaden),
the National Unit for EDU/Europol and the Schengen SIRENE Office (Supplementary
Information Request at the National Entry – SIRENE) are also part of the
Federal Detective force Office´s functions. The Federal Criminal Police Office has jurisdiction for the prosecution of certain crimes, for example:
The Federal Criminal Police Office is responsible for the protection of members
of the constitutional bodies of the Federal Republic of Germany and their guests. Within the framework of its duties as the central agency, the Federal Criminal Police Office supports the federal and state police forces. To this end, the Federal Criminal Police Office maintains the required facilities for all areas of criminal police examination and forensic research. The Federal Criminal Police Office is also responsible for the development of police methods and strategies for law enforcement. Customs Investigation Office (Zollkriminalamt) As a superior federal authority, the Customs Investigation Office has a number of tasks, in particular monitoring foreign trade and payments transactions, exposing violations of EC market regulations and combating drug trafficking. The Customs Investigation Office has coordination and steering functions in the field of customs investigations. The Police Service of the Federal Parliament (Hausinspektion des Deutschen Bundestages) The Police Service of the Federal Parliament is a special police force responsible for law enforcement on the premises of the Federal Parliament.
Under construction. Being the only central criminal investigation agency at the national level, the Federal Criminal Police Office has been appointed National Central Bureau for Interpol (Nationales Zentralbüro NZB) in Germany. Consequently all 4,800 staff members perform at the same time duties at the national and international levels, the latter by assuming responsabilities in the framework of the ICPO-Interpol.
Cf. the revised German contribution to the Interpol circular of 16.02.81, file ref. ICPO-Interpol 8/D3/COOP/101 - Missions abroad -, which is attached as an enclosure.
The Federal Republic’s Courts are largely specialized and fall into five categories:
Separate from the five branches of jurisdiction is the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht), which is the country‘s supreme court. Most of the approximately 22.300 professional judges (as of June 30, 1999) of the Federal Republic of Germany are appointed for life and in exercising their profession are bound only by the spirit and letter of the law. In several types of court lay judges sit with the professional judges. Their experience and specialist knowledge in certain fields, such as labour and welfare matters, enable them to help the courts make realistic decisions. They are also a manifestation of the citizen‘s direct responsibility for the administration of justice. The public prosecutor‘s offices are criminal justice bodies of independent responsibilities vis-a-vis the courts and attached to the judiciary. The office of prosecutor is exercised by the Federal Prosecutor General (Generalbundesanwalt) in the case of the Federal Court of Justice, by a Prosecutor General in the case of a Higher Regional Court, by a Senior Prosecutor In Charge in the case of a regional court, together with their respective staff. The public prosecutors are for the most part concerned with criminal proceedings. It is their responsibility to establish the facts where a person is suspected of a crime. They have to decide whether to discontinue the proceedings or to indict the person concerned. In court proceedings they are the prosecuting counsels. Unlike judges, public prosecutors are civil servants and there are approximately 5.200 public prosecutors in Germany (as of June 30, 1999). Therefore under orders from their superiors - though within very narrow limits.
4.3.1 German liaison officers posted abroad
4.3.2 Seconded officers to national organizations State Criminal Police Office of Saxony, State Criminal Police Office of Berlin, Frankfurt Airport, Customs Investigation Office in Köln 4.3.3 Seconded officers to international organizations ICPO - Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon, EUROPOL in Den Haag and EU Commission , Directorate-General, Justice and Home Affairs. 4.3.4 Foreign liaison officers at the Federal Criminal Police Office Belgium, Denmark (representing the interests of DK, SF, IS, N, S), France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and Venezuela.
Customs officers and the Customs Investigation Office come under the jurisdiction of the Federal Minister of Finance. The customs administration assists within its field of jurisdiction (monitoring the movement of goods, trade passing the border, fiscal control and prosecution of offences committed in this respect) and also in the suppression of drug offences. The customs district offices and the customs offices pass on cases to the Customs Investigation Office, which takes the necessary measures until the case is ready to be passed on to the public prosecutor‘s office.
6.1.1 Throughout the federal territory:
6.1.2 In individual States:
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