Guardian of basic rights and principles

Since the first Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces took up office in 1959, the Bundestag has issued no instructions and the Defence Commission has done so on only 25 occasions. The Commissioner therefore works primarily on his own initiative.

The Commissioner investigates incidents within the Bundeswehr which give rise to the suspicion that, for example, human dignity, freedom of opinion or the legal protection of service personnel have been unlawfully restricted.

The Commissioner’s attention can be drawn to special incidents which lead to investigations during visits to military units and through press reports, information from Members of the Bundestag or petitions from service personnel.