On May 15, 2018, the Bavarian state parliament passed a new “police task law” (“PAG”) with 89 votes in favor and 67 votes against. The new law will come into effect on May 25, 2018. Bavaria’s prime minister Markus Söder of the Christian Social Union announced that the bill “will save lives and help people to not become victims.” The opposing Green Party and the Social Democrats have already announced that they will file a complaint before the Constitutional Court.
The PAG grants wide expansion of police rights, including that the Police are now authorized to take action against citizens not only in the case of a “specific danger” (as required by the law up to now), but also in the case of an “imminent danger.” This has raised concerns because of the vagueness of the term “imminent danger” and the difficulty of determining this point of time in practice. The legal term is not new to lawmakers, having been implemented in the Bavarian police law in 2017, but in the past Bavarian authorities were only authorized to take action in the case of an “imminent danger” when an act of terror was suspected. Now, police can take preventive actions in a much broader range of circumstances.
Another extension in power for the police is the ability to access cloud storages when a phone or a computer is searched. In the past, a search warrant merely empowered authorities to search local data stored on the device at issue. Additionally, during an active manhunt, police will now have access to a thorough DNA profile of suspects.
Other German states including Baden-Wuerttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia have also passed new police laws, but Bavaria’s new law is by far the most controversial. Only two days after the law was passed, 30,000 demonstrators took to the streets in Bavaria’s capital, Munich. Critics regard the law as unconstitutional due to its significant interference with individual data protection and privacy. Since Bavaria has had its lowest crime rates in 30 years, allegations have been raised that the law is designed to win back voters that have switched to the right-wing party “AFD” in recent years.
Despite the criticism of the new law, it is important to remember that most police measures can only be ordered by a judge, and decision-making power does not rest solely with the police forces. Ultimately, the question as to whether the new law is constitutional or not will lay in the hands of the courts. Any such decision, however, is very far away.
