Employees of members of the German Bundestag are not entitled to a personalized parliamentary badge. A ruling from the Administrative Court in Berlin, confirmed last Friday by the Upper Administrative Court for Berlin‑Brandenburg, clarified that staff must first pass a reliability check before the Bundestag can issue them an ID card.
The Bundestag administration denied the applicant a badge because it had doubts about the employee’s reliability. As a result, he was unable to enter the Bundestag’s non‑public buildings.
In the appeal, the higher court found that the employee had not convincingly shown that he met the required reliability standard. The administration could, therefore, justifiably conclude that his contacts with Russian state agencies and with persons who cooperate with those agencies posed a risk to the Bundestag’s functioning and operations.
The court also rejected the employee’s argument that the decision lacked sufficient legal basis. The Bundestag’s house rules and the associated access and conduct regulations provide adequate authority for the decision, rendering it final and unchallengeable.