Coronavirus and basic rights: What can Germany do?
Kay-Alexander Scholz
March 19, 2020
Germany is an established democracy. However, in an emergency there may be significant incursions into basic rights. An overview of the complex legal situation in Germany.
Image: Reuters/K. Pfaffenbach
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Bavaria has already declared a state of emergency, the most extreme measure taken so far in the fight against the coronavirus in Germany. State Premier Markus Söder said one of the main reasons for taking this measure was to enable auxiliary personnel, the fire brigade and rescue services to be placed under single command — or at least to be brought together more easily. This is normally the responsibility of local authorities, or the individually administrative districts and cities.
Furthermore, all hospitals in Bavaria are now effectively under state control. They have been told to concentrate on fighting the coronavirus. In a declared "disaster situation” it is possible — not only in Bavaria — to draw up lists of retired doctors or general practitioners and, if necessary, require them to redeploy. Private individuals can also be obliged to help. However, as each federal state has its own civil defense law, there are differences between them in the detail.
Action is currently being taken nationwide in accordance with the Infection Protection Act of 2001. This alone can mean severe restrictions to people's lives and basic rights. These, according to Paragraph 17 of the law, are the individual freedom of citizens, the freedom of movement, the freedom of assembly, and the inviolability of the home.
A ban on mass gatherings has already come into force. Quarantining of suspected cases is also happening in accordance with the law.
In a disaster situation, further restrictions are also possible, and each state has its own laws in this regard. The example of Thuringia shows how far these restrictions could go. There, an affected area can be cordoned off, and the confidentiality of telecommunications can be overridden, meaning that telephone calls can be intercepted. The right of ownership of property – one's own house or plot of land – can also be restricted.
With thousands of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus in Germany, the daily routine for many has been upended. From football to flights, car manufacturing to culture, DW looks at life amid the outbreak.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Rumpenhorst
Food donations drop
Panic-buying has left empty shelves in supermarkets — and food banks. With Germans snapping up canned goods and toilet paper to weather the outbreak, stores have fewer supplies left over to donate to the needy, said Jochen Brühl, head of Tafel Deutschland, which supports more than 1.5 million people with surplus groceries and other donations. Brühl encouraged those who had overreacted to donate.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Matzka
Bundesliga suspended
After playing one match behind closed doors, the Bundesliga has suspended its season until at least April 2. The Germany football league had considered playing matches behind closed doors until Paderborn's coach Steffen Baumgart and defender Luca Kilian tested positive for COVID-19.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Cultural cancellations
Cultural life has also taken a hit, with major fairs and trade shows canceled or postponed. Among the casualties were the Leipzig Book Fair and the Musikmesse Frankfurt, Europe's biggest music trade fair. Numerous clubs, galleries and museums have closed across the country, and the gala award show for the annual German film and television award, the Goldene Kamera, has been moved to November.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Not the 'Wuhan flu'
The Chinese origin of the virus has led to an increase in xenophobic sentiment in the places worst hit by the outbreak. Asian restaurants and stores — not just Chinese — have reported empty tables in countries hard hit by the pandemic, and people with Asian features have experienced discrimination. At a recent Bundesliga game in Leipzig, a group of Japanese fans was ejected from the stadium.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Solaro
Flights grounded
German airline Lufthansa has massively reduced its flight capacity as business and personal travel is cut back. The flagship carrier is now seeking state aid, according to a report from Germany business newspaper Handelsblatt. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr will be attending a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to government sources.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kusch
Car production crippled
Car plants in China have been shut down since January, and major German automakers like Volkswagen and Daimler have said both sales and production have been hit by the epidemic. And with many automakers sourcing electric car parts from China, work at plants in Germany has also hit a stumbling block. Berlin has said it plans to financially support companies suffering coronavirus losses.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Images/J. Meyer
Fewer tourists
"The consequences for the German tourism sector are serious," warned Guido Zöllick, head of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association. Already by the second week of March, 76.1% of members had reported a sharp decrease in bookings and a drop in revenue. The German parliament has banned tourists from visiting the glass dome of the Reichstag building until further notice.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Wurtscheid
Border checks
In an effort to prevent further spread, Germany has closed its borders with France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark. Authorities in Poland and the Czech Republic had already begun spot checks, measuring the temperature of travelers crossing main road borders out of Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Weigel
School closures
Preschools and primary schools across Germany have shut. The closures have affected more than 2.2 million children up to age 16 countrywide, according to Germany's Federal Statistical Office. German television stations have adjusted their programming in response to the school closures.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Seidel
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What happens in a national state of emergency?
There is no nationwide disaster law, but there are so-called emergency laws. These differentiate between various scenarios in terms of internal and external threat, for example epidemics or a military attack.
This legislative package, a supplement to the German constitution, was only passed in 1968, and then only after much heated debate. People were still scarred by the Nazi dictatorship, and there was considerable concern about the creation of a new authoritarian state.
Among other things, the emergency laws regulate how federal states can assist each other – by sending police officers, for example. The federal government can also assume operational control and deploy the German army internally, which is otherwise forbidden.
Federal states can be given centrally-issued instructions. The lawful distribution of competences between the federation and its states would thus be re-regulated, or, more precisely: centralized.
The declaration of a state of emergency would also entail considerable restrictions of basic rights. The secrecy of correspondence could be suspended. Citizens could be temporarily deprived of their right to move about freely. It would be the responsibility of the German federal government to declare a state of emergency. This has never happened before in the 70-year history of the Federal Republic.
