Unzulässig, aber begründet – das BVerfG stärkt die kriminologische Forschungsfreiheit

In a recent decision, the Federal Constitutional Court did not accept the constitutional complaint of a criminologist because it was time-barred. In the case, a public prosecutor's office had seized research data on the basis of a court order, which the person concerned had collected as part of qualitative social research. He had conducted interviews with prisoners about their activities in the Islamist milieu and promised confidentiality. The Federal Constitutional Court has made it clear that this violates the freedom of research. The discussion article agrees with the decision and classifies it in terms of criminal procedure law.