Untersuchungsausschüsse live im Fernsehen – ein Beitrag zur Aufklärung?

Abstract

Demands for allowing audio and visual recordings during sessions of parliamentary inquiry committees to ensure better public information have been brought forward not only since the introduction of legislation on these commission some 20 years ago . While the law— with high legal hurdles—introduced the possibility during these sessions, actual recordings have only been allowed in very few cases . In the previous parliamentary term of the Bundestag, media reports stressed the demand for visual and audio recordings during the “Wirecard” inquiry . Making use of such recordings raises three fundamental issues with the conformity of inquiry proceedings: complying with important procedural principles, balancing competing rights of relevant parties as well as avoiding possible contradictions of the inquiry committee´s mandate . None of these three questions can be answered in a way that would support the general authorization of audio and visual documentation . Findings in psychology even suggest that there is an insolvable conflict between the unwanted influence of the mere knowledge about of television coverage on witnesses and the facts based mandate of the committee .