The extreme right on the lead in Germany. “Extremist group”. The party can be banned
The German constitution provides that the party may be outlawed if “goals or behavior [jej] supporters are heading to violations or overthrow of the libertarian democratic political order or threaten the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany “.
Will the Federal Constitutional Tribunal outlaw the party that enjoys the growing support of society? He asks a valued lawyer about the future of the alternative to Germany.
In May, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BFV) classified the alternative to Germany as “a definitely extremist right -wing party”. Although the final sentence has still not been passed, Since then, appeals for the prohibition are getting louder and louder.
SPD and Greens are pressing the quick creation of a federal and landing group to collect evidence. On the other hand, the Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt insists on waiting for the judgment of the Tribunal before preparing and initiating such proceedings. It is not clear yet whether AFD recognition as an extremist group, even final, will be sufficient to initiate procedure.
Prof. Markus Ogorek, head of the Institute of Public Law and Administration theory, looked closer to the BFV report and prepared an expertise.
The key question is: does the classification of the party as “definitely far -right” automatically means that the conditions for its delegation are met? The report contains a clear answer to this question: although the categorization made by BFV may form the basis for further actions, does not constitute sufficient evidence for the procedure of the party ban. The mere statement of actions contrary to the constitution is therefore not sufficient.
“In order for the party's procedure to be successful, the Federal Constitutional Tribunal would have to be able to determine that AFD, according to its goals or behavior of its supporters, aims to violate or eliminate the libertarian democratic political order” – reads in the report.
This assessment is justified by the experience of previous proceedings regarding party's outlaws. The Socialist Party of the Reich was banned in 1952 because as the successor of NSDAP She sought to restore the national -socialist system. The outlaws of the Communist Party of Germany in 1956 also based on a clear desire to replace the existing order with communism.
In 2003, the proceedings against the National Democratic Party of Germany (today under the name Die Heimat, or Homeland), however, ended. The colleagues of the services were active in leading positions in the party, which prevented independent judgment. In 2017, the Federal Constitutional Tribunal decided that the party was “essentially anti -konstitutional”, but refused to delegate it, Because she was unable to achieve her goals because of her insignificance. This standard of “specific threat” still applies to AFD.
AFD “is currently heavily rooted in society”
– The Tribunal's report contains real arguments in favor of procedure, even if Karlsruhe [siedziba trybunału — red.] He demands even more rigorous explanations in case of doubt – says Ogorek. Unlike BFV The Tribunal also examines “whether a given party has potential to actually achieve its anti -constitutional goals“.
– while delegation procedures for smaller parties can burn in the acetabulum by this obstacle, It is unlikely to be a problem in the case of AFD Due to its election success, stable structures and the fact that it is currently strongly rooted in society – says the lawyer.
Judges of the Federal Constitutional Tribunal during the trial. Illustrative photo
The BFV report documents in detail that Part of the AFD represents an ethnic and nationalist ideology that boils down to the marginalization of some groups of the populationi. Such a picture shows the anti -konstitutional nature of individual trends in the party. On the other hand, the report reports one point restrained: although it documents problematic and extremist positions, it does not confirm the actual AFD ability to eliminate the libertarian democratic system. It is at this stage that the prohibition procedure will fail, unless other reliable evidence is provided.
Even if AFD clearly pursuing anti -konstitutional goals in some areas, there are currently no grounds to initiate procedures for the prohibition of party activities against it. Legal obstacles for the ban on the party's activities are extremely excessiveeven in accordance with the standards set by the Federal Constitutional Tribunal in 2017. Success is only possible if it can be proved that the party is a specific threat to the free and democratic basic order.
What does Ogorek think about the idea of the Minister of the Interior to refrain from preparing the application? – It would be reasonable to wait for the administrative court to control the rank of rank [ekstremizmu] AFD before submitting the application to be as certain as possible. But Studying the prospects of the success of the ban, which is crucial for the application, may start immediatelye.g. by the appropriate federal-land working group, as in the case of NPD-assesses the lawyer. SPD and Greens have been calling for this for months.
In addition to BFV findings, you can also consider the Office for the Protection of the Constitution of individual Lands and other sources, as well as more stringent requirements of the judges of the Tribunal in Karlsruhe. – Those who want to wait until the raising of the AFD rank is verified by a specialized court, risk that the working group can only be established in the middle of the Bundestag election campaign. It would be politically very unfortunate and would not suit the principles of good state management – admits Ogorek.
