Verdict: A police supervision by GPS permitted.

Federal Constitutional Court, press office, press release no. 31/2005 of April 12th, 2005 complaint of unconstitutionality against a police supervision by means of GPS unsuccessful. The second senate has the complaint of unconstitutionality of one because of fourfold murder attempt and four bomb attacks to thirteen years custody a member sentence this one requires "Antiimperialistischen cell" rejected but measures securing of punishing legislator and offices of investigation opposite information technology developments. The complainant had himself against the -- a carried out -- police supervision turned GPS and the utilization of the knowledge won from this Observation in the criminal preliminary proceedings with the satellite supported locating system.

The decision is based on the following considerations essentially: A legal basis for proof surveys under use of the GPS and the following utilization of this evidence is § 100 C para. 1 no. 1 letter B code of criminal procedure (StPO). The regulation is constitutional. It is adequately the feature used in the norm certainly, particularly is sufficiently "special means meant for Observationszwecke" puts in concrete terms. The certainty commandment asks of the legislator that it describes technical intervention instruments exactly. However, it doesn't require any legal wordings which exclude every inclusion of forensic innovations. Because of the fast and risky for the basic legal protection information technology change the legislator must, however, watch the technical developments attentively and step in correctively by supplementary Rechtssetzung if necessary. The application field of the feature lets "special means meant for Observationszwecke" put themselves in concrete terms by law interpretation. Supervision and note techniques it arises from the delimitation on the one hand to the means of simple visual supervision activity (§ 100 C para. 1 no. of 1 are StPO) and the acoustic on the other hand (§ 100, B para. 1 no. 2 and 3 StPO): It is all about the locating and stay regulation by observation with technical means. The use of the GPS lasts within this area.
The regulation is also constitutional in the rest. Infringements the general personal right by the use of instruments of technical Observation typically don't reach the inviolable network core of private life design into extent and intensity. Furthermore a deeper intervention can be avoided with effects on uninterested third parties, approximately the eavesdrop of conversations, by the technical Observation under circumstances. In addition, to be taken into account has that require a judicial order, additional prerequisites are formulated in the law and more than a month lasts, Observationen, for these the accused for longer-term Observationen. It finally didn't require any separate legal regulation for a use of several inquiry measures for the same time either. By general procedural safeguardings an inadmissible "all around supervision" with which a comprehensive personality image of a one involved could be created is excluded, in principle.
At use modern, particularly the person affected hidden, investigation methods have to the law enforcement agencies take special requirements on the method into account with consideration for the endangering potential being inherent in the "additive" fundamental right intervention, however. It has to be so made sure that the prosecuting attorney's office as a primarily responsible decision maker is informed about all inquiry interventions. Furthermore the legislator has to observe whether the existing procedural measures are suitable also in view of future developments to safeguard the basic legal protection effectively and to prevent non-coordinated inquiry measures of different authorities reliably.

The interpretation and application of the § are measured in terms of these scales not to query 100 C para. 1 no. 1 letter B StPO by the Higher Regional Court and the Federal Supreme Court. Judge of April 12th of 2005 -- 2 BvR 581/01, Karlsruhe, April 12th, 2005