Headnotes
to the Order of the First Senate of 18 December 2018
– 1 BvR 142/15 –
(Automatic number plate recognition II)
1. Automatic number plate recognition constitutes an interference with
the fundamental right to informational self-determination of any person whose number plates are automatically recorded, even if the result is a “no match” and the data is deleted immediately (deviation
from Decision BVerfGE 120, 378).
2. In order to distinguish between matters of law enforcement for which
the Federation has legislative competence pursuant to Art. 74(1) no. 1
of the Basic Law and matters of public security, which lie in principle
within the legislative competence of the Länder, it is essential to determine the purpose of the provisions, as can objectively be read from
their design.
A Land legislature is not prevented from issuing provisions that serve
public security purposes merely because their effects also serve law
enforcement purposes. However, the provisions must be strictly defined by the purpose for which the Land has legislative competence.
3. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, police measures
conducted in search of persons or objects generally require objectively defined and limited grounds for an interference with fundamental
rights. This distinguishes them from measures targeting risky activities or special sources of danger, which may be justified without specific grounds.
4. Given the weight of its interference, automatic number plate recognition must serve to protect legal interests of at least considerable
weight, or comparably weighty public interests. The range of number
plate information in police database records used for cross-checking
must be limited in relation to the specific purpose of the automatic
number plate recognition.
5. Automatic number plate recognition used as a support at police
checkpoints set up to prevent the commission of serious offences or
of criminal offences under assembly law complies with constitutional
law, if the establishment of such checkpoints is itself based on sufficiently weighty grounds. This is satisfied where a specific danger is
required for the establishment of a police checkpoint.
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