No Deletion of Federal Chancellor’s E-mails
The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig ruled on Friday (January 6) that e-mails of the Federal Chancellor’s Office may not be deleted after the end of the legislative period. The court thus upheld an appeal by the German environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) against the Federal Chancellery.
Background to the case is a request by DUH for access to e-mails from the Chancellery from the period 2018 to 2021. The Chancellery had refused to provide the requested information, arguing that e-mails of the Federal Chancellor’s Office are generally deleted after the end of the legislative period.
The Federal Administrative Court, however, ruled that this practice is unlawful. According to the court, e-mails of the Federal Chancellor’s Office are official documents that must be preserved. The court also emphasized that the public has a right to access information about the work of the government.
The ruling of the Federal Administrative Court is a setback for the Federal Chancellery. The Chancellery had argued that the deletion of e-mails after the end of the legislative period was necessary to protect the privacy of the Federal Chancellor and other government officials. The court, however, ruled that the public interest in transparency outweighs the privacy interests of individuals.
The ruling of the Federal Administrative Court is expected to have a major impact on the work of the Federal Chancellery. In the future, the Chancellery will have to ensure that e-mails of the Federal Chancellor’s Office are properly preserved. This will likely lead to an increase in the administrative workload of the Chancellery.
The ruling of the Federal Administrative Court is also a victory for the DUH. The environmental organization has been campaigning for greater transparency in government for years. The court’s ruling is a clear signal that the government cannot simply delete information that it does not want to make public.
Keine Löschung von Mails des Bundeskanzlers
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Kurzmeldungen (hib) a new article on 2025-01-07 12:32 titled “Keine Löschung von Mails des Bundeskanzlers”. Please write a detailed article on this news item, including any relevant information. Answers should be in English.
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