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G 10 Commission

In addition to scrutinizing the activities of the intelligence services, the Parliamentary Control Panel is also responsible for oversight in the case of restrictions imposed on the privacy of posts and telecommunications in line with a law enacted pursuant to Article 10 of the Basic Law. For this purpose, after consultation with the Federal Government it appoints the so-called G 10 Commission for the duration of each electoral term. The members of the G 10 Commission are not always Members of the Bundestag.

The intelligence services may only restrict the privacy of posts and telecommunications under certain conditions, which are defined in the law enacted pursuant to Article 10 of the Basic Law. Such measures may be ordered only by a federal minister with a corresponding mandate from the Federal Chancellor. The minister in question must inform the Parliamentary Control Panel on a regular basis, but at least every six months, about restrictions ordered by him prior to their implementation. The Commission then decides whether they are necessary and admissible. Should the Commission decide that a planned measure is either unnecessary or inadmissible, it must be revoked immediately, unless in the case of imminent danger it has already been implemented. Here assessment by the Commission acts as a substitute for review by the courts, since general judicial relief does not apply in such cases.