Bundeswehr and Grundgesetz
Since a document from the CIA giving information on how to convince the German people of the mission in Afghanistan has been leaked I want to dive further into the German consitution, called Grundgesetz and its effects on the German army.
We will read several articles concerning the Bundeswehr and its rights and duties.
Bundeswehr as Defense Army
The German army is defined as a defense army in the Grundgesetz. The beginning of article 87a says:
(1) The Federation shall establish Armed Forces for purposes of defense. Their numerical strength and general organizational structure must be shown in the budget.
(2) Apart from defense, the Armed Forces may be employed only to the extent expressly permitted by this Basic Law.
We will have a closer look on these exceptions later, but at first let’s concentrate on the defensive aspects.
Due to the deeds of Germany in the past, we have an article forbidding each attempt to start an attack on another state. Each attempt to plan a war of aggression is unconstitutional and illegal. This is stated in article 26:
(1) Acts tending to and undertaken with intent to disturb the peaceful relations between nations, especially to prepare for a war of aggression, shall be unconstitutional. They shall be made a criminal offense.
(2) Weapons designed for warfare may be manufactured, transported, or marketed only with the permission of the Federal Government. Details shall be regulated by a federal law.
Thus, Germany army is not allowed to attack at first, but these statements seeming so easy are complicated and can be eroded easily. The German army takes part in international interventions if specific regions are said to be a danger for world peace and the missions are considered to have positive influence on peace.
Germany as Part of International Organizations
Article 24 deals with international organizations and contains the following sentence:
(2) With a view to maintaining peace, the Federation may enter into a system of mutual collective security; in doing so it shall consent to such limitations upon its sovereign powers as will bring about and secure a lasting peace in Europe and among the nations of the world.
This means Germany’s army will not act only upon the German will, but also as part of international organizations like NATO. An example for such an incident was the terrorist attack on the USA. As soon as the UN Security Council confirmed the collapse of the US twin towers as being an attack on a member state, Germany was supposed to support the NATO.
Germany does not necessarily have to send troops, but it should help in a way the state finds suitable. Not helping could lead to the problem that, if there is an attack on Germany, other states will not act, either.
Since the UN Security Council claimed there was danger for world peace, the Bundeswehr was able to act based upon a state of defense (even though the whole mission is an out of area operation).
However, Germany is not only part of the NATO, but also—as member of the European Union—member of Europe’s Common Defense and Security Policy (CDSP). Even though it works closely together with the NATO, there still are distinctions and separated work groups. The CDSP is mainly focused on war prevention and peace keeping operations.
The German army also supports the so called UN standby-arrangment-system (UNSAS): a list with states deploying soldiers who can be sent to operational areas within 30 to 90 days.
Usage of Army within Germany
Article 35 and article 87a allow the state to use the army within Germany, but only very rarely. You can usually say that army is only allowed to become active within Germany if all other groups have failed.
Article 35 deals with natural catastrophes and allows the army to help if wider regions are influenced and non-military institutions (like police and fire brigade) cannot solve it on their own.
(3) If the natural disaster or accident endangers the territory of more than one Land, the Federal Government, insofar as is necessary to combat the danger, may instruct the Land governments to place police forces at the disposal of other Länder, and may deploy units of the Federal Border Police or the Armed Forces to support the police. Measures taken by the Federal Government pursuant to the first sentence of this paragraph shall be rescinded at any time at the demand of the Bundesrat, and in any event as soon as the danger is removed.
In Germany, such catastrophes usually mean floods. I have a picture in mind where Bundeswehr piled up sandbags to stop the water, but I cannot remember which flood that was.
Article 87a allows the usage of army in states of defense and danger for democracy. However, all these operations are only allowed as long as both Bundestag and Bundesrat tolerate them and if police and Federal Border Police were not able to solve the problem on their own:
(3) During a state of defense or a state of tension the Armed Forces shall have the power to protect civilian property and to perform traffic control functions to the extent necessary to accomplish their defense mission. Moreover, during a state of defense or a state of tension, the Armed Forces may also be authorized to support police measures for the protection of civilian property; in this event the Armed Forces shall cooperate with the competent authorities.
(4) In order to avert an imminent danger to the existence or free democratic basic order of the Federation or of a Land, the Federal Government, if the conditions referred to in paragraph (2) of Article 91 obtain and the police forces and the Federal Border Police prove inadequate, may employ the Armed Forces to support the police and the Federal Border Police in protecting civilian property and in combating organized armed insurgents. Any such employment of the Armed Forces shall be discontinued if the Bundestag or the Bundesrat so demands.
In 2008 or 2009, there have been plans of our former Minister of the Interior, Wolfgang Schäuble to extend the rights of the army within the state, but these have been stopped by demonstrants and probably also oppositional politicians.
Monday, March 29, 2010
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