Cabinet decides on new regulation
Extremist soldiers should be screened out more quickly
08/16/2023, 06:19 p.m
In the future, no judicial disciplinary proceedings will be required to remove soldiers with extremist views from the troops. A new bill provides for this. A profession is even completely off the table when it comes to hate speech.
It should be possible to dismiss extremists in the Bundeswehr more quickly in the future. The Federal Cabinet today approved a corresponding draft law. A new specific reason for dismissal is planned, which is linked to the Federal Constitutional Protection Act. According to this, servicewomen and men who demonstrably support or pursue anti-constitutional efforts “can be removed from service by administrative act, regardless of their status”. The dismissal is carried out by the authority itself, “not after lengthy court proceedings”.
“This means that a dismissal can be implemented quickly in the future,” said the Federal Ministry of Defense. Legal protection remains guaranteed, since a judicial review of this decision is possible.
Federal Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized: “Our soldiers stand on the ground of the free democratic basic order. That is an essential prerequisite for their service to the state.” He added: “Nevertheless, we are vigilant in order to be able to act quickly and consistently in individual cases.” A dismissal of recognized extremists from the Bundeswehr will be possible in the future “without lengthy judicial disciplinary proceedings”.
Appointment to career soldier impossible if convicted
The draft law passed by the cabinet makes it possible “to protect the Bundeswehr from anti-constitutional currents, while maintaining all constitutional principles,” added Pistorius. The draft will now be introduced into the parliamentary procedure.
In addition, the Soldiers’ Act will be amended based on the regulations for civil servants so that “a conviction for incarceration for incitement to hatred leads to the loss of the soldier’s legal status without the need for a further administrative act”. This is based on the regulations for civil servants. In addition, it is made clear “that such a conviction precludes an appointment to the service of a career soldier and a temporary soldier from the outset.” Career soldiers who have already been appointed lose this status if they are convicted.
New regulation follows on a case-by-case basis in the Koblenz procurement office
The Military Shielding Service (MAD) recently recorded a significant decrease in cases of suspected extremism in the Bundeswehr. At the turn of the year 2022/23, 962 cases were processed – a year earlier there were 1452 cases. Suspected cases of right-wing extremism were again at the top, but they declined.
Only recently, the federal prosecutor’s office in Koblenz arrested an employee of the Bundeswehr procurement office. He is said to have contacted the Russian embassy in Berlin and the consulate general in Bonn several times since May of his own accord and offered to work together. Once he is said to have passed on professionally acquired information. The Bundeswehr Association had called for more vigilance within the troops.