The Federal Constitutional Court has overturned a prior injunction against reporting by the news magazine “Der Spiegel” concerning the sprawling Wirecard scandal, a decision lauded by press freedom advocates and signaling a critical stance against increasingly restrictive interpretations of journalistic rights. The Karlsruhe-based court granted a constitutional complaint filed by “Der Spiegel” following a previous ruling by the Munich Higher Regional Court, which had mandated the magazine cease certain reporting related to the case.
The original lawsuit stemmed from a former Wirecard employee, who later became CEO of a startup that received credit from a Wirecard subsidiary. The Munich court, based on its assessment, found “Der Spiegel’s” reporting constituted unlawful suspicion reporting due to a perceived lack of sufficient evidentiary basis. The Federal Constitutional Court sharply criticized this assessment, arguing that press freedom cannot be contingent upon a demonstrating a high probability of conviction beyond initial suspicions.
The court emphasized the crucial role of the press in scrutinizing complex economic crimes, particularly in cases as intricate and financially damaging as the Wirecard collapse. Restricting reporting based on the threshold of proving near-certain guilt, the court argued, would stifle vital public oversight and undermine the ability of journalists to hold powerful institutions accountable.
Furthermore, the Constitutional Court rebuked the Higher Regional Court’s evaluation of the magazine’s visual reporting. It found the court had inadequately considered the claimant’s elevated professional position at the time of publication, which warranted a heightened public interest in accessing information. The court’s decision to overturn the Munich ruling and refer the case back for reconsideration highlights a broader concern within the judiciary regarding the increasingly stringent limitations placed on investigative journalism and the potential chilling effect on freedom of the press. The ruling, formally documented as a decision from November 2025 (1 BvR 573/25), is likely to have far-reaching implications for media law and the scope of permissible reporting on matters of financial and political significance.