Latest news with #GermanConstitutionalCourt
The Star
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Germany's top court dismisses complaint against U.S. drone missions via Ramstein
German Constitutional Court second senate vice president Doris Koenig announces a verdict at Germany's Federal Constitutional Court on the 2012 U.S. drone strikes in Yemen, that were steered from the U.S. air base in Ramstein, in Karlsruhe, Germany, July 15, 2025. REUTERS/Heiko Becker BERLIN (Reuters) -Berlin is not violating international law by allowing the United States to use a military base on German soil to conduct drone strikes, Germany's constitutional court ruled on Tuesday. The court ruling was in response to a constitutional complaint filed by Yemeni nationals whose relatives were killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2012. At issue is the question of whether Germany has a responsibility to ensure that using a relay station for sending satellite data to drones at Ramstein Air Base does not violate international law. The court ruled that while Germany does have a general duty to protect fundamental human rights, even those of foreigners abroad, the conditions triggering that duty were not met. Berlin's view that the U.S. interpretation of international law is fundamentally acceptable falls within the discretion granted it in foreign and security policy, said the court. The German government had argued that Germany's ability to take part in military alliances would be jeopardised if it had to ensure operations conducted by foreign militaries abroad adhered to Germany's understanding of international law simply because they had a base on German soil. The United States and Germany are allies in NATO and Washington has had a military base at Ramstein since 1948. (Reporting by Ursula Knapp, Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Madeline Chambers)
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Germany's top court dismisses complaint against U.S. drone missions via Ramstein
Find out what's new on ST website and app. German Constitutional Court second senate vice president Doris Koenig announces a verdict at Germany's Federal Constitutional Court on the 2012 U.S. drone strikes in Yemen, that were steered from the U.S. air base in Ramstein, in Karlsruhe, Germany, July 15, 2025. REUTERS/Heiko Becker BERLIN - Berlin is not violating international law by allowing the United States to use a military base on German soil to conduct drone strikes, Germany's constitutional court ruled on Tuesday. The court ruling was in response to a constitutional complaint filed by Yemeni nationals whose relatives were killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2012. At issue is the question of whether Germany has a responsibility to ensure that using a relay station for sending satellite data to drones at Ramstein Air Base does not violate international law. The court ruled that while Germany does have a general duty to protect fundamental human rights, even those of foreigners abroad, the conditions triggering that duty were not met. Berlin's view that the U.S. interpretation of international law is fundamentally acceptable falls within the discretion granted it in foreign and security policy, said the court. The German government had argued that Germany's ability to take part in military alliances would be jeopardised if it had to ensure operations conducted by foreign militaries abroad adhered to Germany's understanding of international law simply because they had a base on German soil. The United States and Germany are allies in NATO and Washington has had a military base at Ramstein since 1948. REUTERS Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw acts against 4 law firms and 1 lawyer over seized properties Singapore Man charged with attempted murder of woman at Kallang Wave Mall Singapore Ex-cleaner jailed over safety lapses linked to guard's death near 1-Altitude rooftop bar Singapore Real estate firm PropNex donates $6 million to Community Chest for 25th anniversary Singapore Sengkang-Punggol LRT gets 15.8 per cent capacity boost with new trains Singapore Air India crash: SIA, Scoot find no issues with Boeing 787 fuel switches after precautionary checks Singapore $230,000 in fines issued after MOM checks safety at over 500 workplaces from April to June Multimedia From local to global: What made top news in Singapore over the last 180 years?
Morocco World
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Germany Approves Extradition of Ex-Raja President Boudrika to Morocco
Doha – After months of legal proceedings, Germany has officially approved the extradition of Mohamed Boudrika, former president of Raja Club Athletic Casablanca and ex-parliamentarian, to Morocco. The German Justice Ministry granted the extradition request following the rejection of Boudrika's appeal by the German Constitutional Court. According to DW Arabia, the Hamburg prosecutor's office confirmed that 'what remains now is only the actual execution of the handover of the wanted person to the Moroccan authorities.' Boudrika has been detained in a Hamburg prison since his arrest on July 16, 2024, at the city's airport following an Interpol alert issued at the request of Moroccan authorities. The German Constitutional Court dismissed Boudrika's constitutional complaint on April 4, utilizing its legal prerogative to reject the appeal without providing detailed justification. 'The Constitutional Court decided on April 4, 2025, not to accept the constitutional complaint for consideration,' the Court stated in response to an inquiry from DW Arabia. The former Raja president faces several serious charges in Morocco, including 'issuing checks without financial balance, fraud and scam,' as reported by local Moroccan press. Boudrika had previously been stripped of his parliamentary status by Morocco's Constitutional Court. The Hamburg Regional Court confirmed to Le360 that the extradition request had been deemed admissible, with the Federal Office of Justice approving the decision. While the exact date of Boudrika's transfer to Moroccan judicial authorities remains unspecified, sources indicate the extradition 'should not be delayed.' Boudrika's case represents part of a broader pattern of corruption allegations against Moroccan parliamentarians. Over thirty Moroccan parliamentarians currently face charges ranging from misappropriation of public funds to influence peddling, with some even accused of drug trafficking. Despite Morocco's 2011 constitution establishing governance mechanisms to enhance transparency and strengthen regulatory bodies, corruption continues to burden the country. The North African country has fallen two places in Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), now ranking 99th out of 180 countries with a score of 37/100, indicating a continued regression in the country's anti-corruption performance over recent years. This decline is costing the country between 3.5 to 6% of its GDP annually — approximately MAD 50 billion ($5 billion). At the time of his arrest, Boudrika was traveling to Hamburg to meet with then-head coach Josef Zinnbauer in hopes of convincing him to continue his tenure with Raja. In March 2024, the Ain Sebaa correctional court had already sentenced Boudrika in absentia to a one-year suspended prison term and a fine of MAD 232,500 ($23,250) for issuing checks without sufficient funds. Tags: GermanyMohamed BoudrikaRaja Casablanca
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German parliament to mark 80 years since end of World War II on May 8
Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, is to hold a special ceremony on May 8 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the downfall of the Nazi dictatorship. "World War II was the most brutal and bloody war in history," Bundestag President Julia Klöckner said on Tuesday. "We remember and we do not forget." Klöckner is due to give a speech focused on the war's consequences for women and on lessons from the conflict for the present day. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to deliver a commemorative address, with conservative leader Friedrich Merz - who is due to be elected as the country's chancellor on May 6 - in attendance. Anke Rehlinger, president of the upper house, the Bundesrat, is also due to attend the ceremony, alongside diplomatic representatives and Stephan Harbarth, president of the German Constitutional Court. A one-off bank holiday has been set in Berlin to mark the 80th anniversary of the war's end on May 8, 1945. On the 40th anniversary in 1985, a speech by then-president Richard von Weizsäcker made international headlines, with its clear recognition of the guilt and involvement of many Germans in Nazi crimes and the responsibility of subsequent generations. While many Germans saw the events of 1945 as defeat, Weizsäcker insisted that May 8 was a "day of liberation" from the "inhuman system of Nazi tyranny." The National Socialist German Workers' Party - commonly referred to as the Nazi party - gained power under Adolf Hitler in 1933 and led Germany into World War II in 1939. Around 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust, with other persecuted groups including the Roma people, disabled people and Poles.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
German top speed skater Pechstein ends her career
Germany's most successful winter Olympian Claudia Pechstein has ended her speed skating career, she said in a news conference on Monday. The announcement comes 11 days after the 53-year-old athlete reached a settlement with speed skating ruling body ISU in a doping rules dispute that lasted 16 years and went before the German Constitutional Court. "That's enough now. I've always said that when it was all over, I would stop. So now I can hang up my skates and call it quits," Pechstein said. In the future, she wants to continue as a coach and consultant. 'I'll still be on the ice, but no longer as an athlete.' Pechstein has won nine Olympic medals, including five gold. She was banned for two years in 2009 for blood doping due to suspicious blood values in her biological passport. She never failed a doping test and said tests showed that the elevated levels of reticulocytes, were the result of a blood anaemia called spherocytosis which she inherited from her father. She went to civil courts after the Court of Arbitration in 2011 confirmed the ISU ban, and a Munich regional court suggested a settlement in October after the case was returned to it after nine years via a 2022 ruling by Germany's Constitutional Court. Pechstein was suing the ISU for compensation and damages of €8.4 million ($9.12 million). She said the ban imposed for blood doping over suspicious blood levels in her biological passport was unjust. The ISU said that Pechstein and her father underwent tests at a Swiss hospital where it was determined that "Ms Pechstein has a mild form of dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis (DHS)'.
