Ex-BSI chief Schönbohm fails with lawsuit against Federal Ministry of Interior

Did the Federal Ministry of the Interior under Nancy Faeser (SPD) breach its duty of care in its dealings with the then BSI President Arne Schönbohm? There is "much to suggest that the defendant did not sufficiently fulfill its duty of care by not taking a more protective stance towards the plaintiff", the Cologne Administrative Court found today, Thursday.

In essence, the proceedings were about whether the BMI should have taken a protective stance towards Schönbohm after being asked by ZDF Magazin Royale and when the program was broadcast. However, in order to derive a legal claim from this, a "serious violation" of personal rights by the Federal Ministry of the Interior would have had to be established.

This is precisely what the court was unable to establish. Errors alone are therefore not justiciable, which should be a relevant finding for civil servants in Germany as a whole. After all, the employer's duty of care is part of the trade-off when becoming a civil servant: the citizen becomes a civil servant and must serve the state loyally – in return, the employer must also protect them. However, apparently not as much as at least Arne Schönbohm thought was right.

High civil servant position entails high risk

The court also stated that high-ranking positions for civil servants are also associated with an exposed position and a high level of responsibility –, apparently also referring to highly remunerated career civil servant positions such as the BSI President position, which was paid B8 at the time. It was therefore exactly one step below the so-called "political civil servants", who can be temporarily retired at any time by the responsible minister. Although the court declared the position of President of the Federal Academy for Public Administration (BAköV), which was specially remunerated for Schönbohm by the Bundestag at the request of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, to be potentially vulnerable –, there was no evidence of an intention to harm the plaintiff Arne Schönbohm. As a civil servant, he was not entitled to a specific position, but only to appropriate employment.

Schönbohm can apply to the Higher Administrative Court in Münster for permission to appeal against the dismissal of the lawsuit.

Proceedings against ZDF enter second round

For Schönbohm, this is the second verdict in just a few weeks, and the outcome is mixed. While he had largely won against ZDF at the Munich I Regional Court when ZDF was prohibited from making four statements about him, he has now lost on the merits. The Cologne Administrative Court's indications today that Nancy Faeser and her staff did not adequately protect Arne Schönbohm from unjustified accusations by ZDF Magazin Royale and its presenter Jan Böhmermann are also clear – but also that the cause was not the Ministry of the Interior, but the Second German Television and ZDF Magazin Royale.

This should also interest the judges in the next round of legal disputes: Like Schönbohm, ZDF has applied for an appeal to the Munich Higher Regional Court in the civil proceedings against the Mainz-based broadcaster. The corresponding episode of Neo Magazin Royale available on the Internet has recently been adorned with a note: "Following a ruling by the Munich I Regional Court, the video was revised on 20.01.2025 and a passage removed in order to exclude an unintended, inaccurate understanding that Arne Schönbohm had had contact with intelligence services from Russia or other countries." The corresponding passage in the video has been replaced by a similar text panel.

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD), who did not cut a good figure in the entire affair, thus escapes legal embarrassment shortly before the premature end of her term of office. It is considered unlikely that she could become Federal Minister of the Interior again: her own Hessian SPD state association did not see her as a top candidate – and only gave the often unfortunate minister fourth place on the state list for the federal election.

(mho)