Abstract
AbstractThe German police stopped and searched a car crossing the border from the Netherlands and thereby detected large quantities of drugs. What sounds like a standard procedure is actually a very controversial case recently heard at the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof; BGH), dealing with so called legendierte Polizeikontrollen. These are apparently random police checks that are, in reality, well prepared and specifically targeted at the subject of the police check due to ongoing investigations. This case raised the issue of lawful evidence gathering by the police when pursuing both preventive and repressive objectives, as well as the question of the subsequent exploitation in court of the evidence obtained. Addressing issues of the utmost significance, such as the circumvention of the rights of the accused, this BGH judgment was critically reviewed among legal scholars.
Highlights
The German police stopped and searched a car crossing the border from the Netherlands and thereby detected large quantities of drugs
What sounds like a standard procedure is a very controversial case recently heard at the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof; BGH), dealing with so called legendierte Polizeikontrollen
Addressing issues of the utmost significance, such as the circumvention of the rights of the accused, this BGH judgment was critically reviewed among legal scholars
Summary
The difficulty that arises from this case is that of legendierte Polizeikontrollen, which are apparently random but, in reality, targeted police controls. Like in common law jurisdictions, the police in Germany are able to conduct investigations undercover using an alias, or, as it is referred to in German, a Legende. A legendierte Polizeikontrolle is a police check executed under false pretenses and with ulterior motives. The problem with these legendierte Polizeikontrollen is that, contrary to the aliases and cover stories used by police officers, they are not provided for in the StPO. In Germany, police powers are regulated in the StPO and in decentralized police codes of the individual federal states (Bundesländer). Whether federal law or the law of the Länder is applicable depends on the purpose of the police action
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