Strache-Video: Was the release right?

lawyers are Also employed by the Strache Video. In particular, the question was Allowed to be published the secret recording? A legal assessment.

By Klaus Hempel, ARD-right-editorial

It is first of all to distinguish strictly between the recording and the release of the video. According to Section 201a of the penal code makes punishable, who created the secret video recordings and the personal lives of the Filmed injured.

it Is assumed that the recording was unlawful, and even punishable by law, can be justified in the publication nevertheless.

control function of the press could.

must, in Principle, allow it to be a secretly Filmed did not like that the unlawful images are widely used in Public suffer

According to the case law of the Federal constitutional court but there are situations in which this could exceptionally be justified: Unlawfully obtained information may not be disseminated by the press, if this is for the information of the Public and for the public opinion formation "of considerable weight".

Otherwise, "might have added to the suffering, the task of Control of the press, whose function it is, to grievances of public importance." So it was decided by the Federal constitutional court in 1984. At the time of the Investigative had crept Journalist Günther Wallraff in "image"-newspaper and shortcomings.

Heinz-Christian Strache described the Video as "a targeted political assassination".

A question of balance

Required a consideration that is examined is: What weighs heavier? The interest of the person Concerned, that nothing is out of his highly personal area of life permeates out? Or the interest of the Public to Information, in order to form an opinion?

According to the case law of the Federal constitutional court of the interest that weighs the Public all the more serious, if the publication of behaviors are revealed, which are illegal. All of this must be considered.

publication is expected by the basic law to be

Here are covered it is one of the leading party politicians of Austria, declares in the Video, ready to provide investments for the benefit of the FPÖ government contracts. In the case of public officials bribery is a criminal offence.

got The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and the "mirror" have declared that they have not produced the recordings themselves, or in the order given, but from the outside plays.

it is based on the case law of the Federal constitutional court, is, therefore, the balance is pretty clear: There is not only considerable, but pre-eminent interest of the Public to Information and reporting. Therefore, the publication of the Videos from the freedom of the press under art is likely to be covered 5 of the basic law and thus legally allowed to be.