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US Army Base Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate
Photo: RONALD WITTEK / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
Three men from Yemen failed to file a lawsuit against the Federal Republic because of the US drone operations in their home country.
The plaintiffs wanted Germany to stop the Americans' armed drone flights, in which the Ramstein army base in Rhineland-Palatinate plays an important role.
The Yemenis lost two relatives in an attack in 2012 - innocent civilians, they say.
The men turned to German courts because data streams for the US drone program converge at Ramstein Air Base.
Because of the curvature of the earth, the satellite relay station on the US base is used during attacks to send data from the USA to the drones.
However, the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig rejected the Yemenis' demands on Wednesday.
It changed a different ruling by the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) in Münster.
Federal Administrative Court conceded previous judgment
Before the OVG, the plaintiffs had achieved partial success in the politically explosive case.
The OVG had decided that the Federal Republic had to become more active than before.
It is not enough to rely on the American assurance that the activities at Ramstein will be carried out in accordance with the law.
The Federal Republic, argued the chief administrative judge, must investigate whether the drone operations violate international law.
The Ministry of Defense appealed against this judgment.
The Federal Administrative Court has now ruled that, in principle, there could be a fundamental right of Germany to protect foreigners abroad.
But there are prerequisites for this.
On the one hand, actions contrary to international law must be specifically expected.
On the other hand, there must be a close relationship to German territory.
It is not enough that Ramstein is technically significant for the US drone program.
Rather, concrete decisions would have to be made on German soil.
Plaintiffs could still go before the BGH or ECHR
Unlike the OVG, the federal judges did not come to the conclusion that the federal government had done too little in exchange with the Americans.
There are regular consultations, which are in line with diplomatic practice.
The Federal Government could not be obliged to publish its legal opinion, it said in the judgment.
The Yemenis were supported in the lawsuit by the human rights organization ECCHR and Reprieve.
The plaintiffs now have to go to the Federal Constitutional Court and possibly also to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
File number: BVerwG 6 C 7.19
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fek / dpa / AFP
