Application to the Constitutional Court - AfD MP wants to legally enforce Senate responses
AfD Deputy Marc Vallendar will force the Senate to fully answer one of his written inquiries through legal means. He filed an organ dispute proceedings at the Constitutional Court of the Federal State of Berlin on Wednesday due to the violation of the parliamentary right to ask questions, as the AfD faction announced. The court confirmed that the application had been received.
Vallendar, the legal spokesman for the faction in the Berlin State Parliament, had requested a series of information from the Senate in his written inquiry from early May regarding stabbing attacks in Berlin in 2023. One question was: "Do suspects with German citizenship have a concentration in terms of first names? Please provide a detailed disclosure of the 20 most common first names."
In the response to this question, it was stated: "Due to the protection of the personal rights of the affected suspects, the requested disclosure of the first names cannot be made." Vallendar alleges in his application that the Senate did not fully answer his written inquiry and thus violated the parliamentary right of the applicant under Article 45 Paragraph 1 of the Berlin Constitution.
Vallendar called the Senate's behavior "unacceptable" and pointed out that the CDU itself had asked for the names of suspects after attacks on police and fire departments during New Year's Eve 2022.
- Despite the Constitutional Court confirmation of Marc Vallendar's organ dispute proceedings, the Senate has failed to fully address his questions, according to the AfD faction, particularly regarding a knife attack in Berlin in 2023.
- The House of Representatives in Berlin's Parliament finds the Senate's response to Vallendar's inquiry unacceptable, as they allege that it violates the applicant's parliamentary rights under Article 45 Paragraph 1 of the Berlin Constitution.
- Interestingly, the CDU itself had previously sought the names of suspects following attacks on police and fire departments during New Year's Eve 2022, yet the Senate's stance on privileging individual rights over transparency challenges this precedent.
