is an order of "professional disqualification" under German law. may be translated into English as "professional ban". A disqualifies the recipient from engaging in certain professions or activities on the grounds of their criminal record, political convictions or membership in a particular group.

In National Socialist Germany

Pursuant to a 1933 law (the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service), many

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s, artists, political opponents, and others were prohibited by the National Socialist government in Germany from engaging in certain professions.

Post-World War II

After 1945, the Allied authorities in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

issued orders against certain political filmmakers, such as Leni Riefenstahl, who got a lifelong .

1972 Anti-Radical Decree

On 28 January 1972 the federal government and the premiers of the states instituted the so-called ("Radicals Decree"). Under this decree, people who were considered to be members of, or aligned to, extremist organizations were banned from working as civil servants (), a category that in Germany includes public sector occupations such as teaching. The decree was issued in response to

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

by the Red Army Faction. is the name given to the decree by people who opposed it because, in their view, it contradicts the freedom of occupational choice guaranteed by the Basic Law of Germany. Law experts do not use the term as the decree does not forbid by itself. The law was applied unevenly after 1979. Many of the

states of Germany The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...

repealed the relevant legislation and in 2016 the

Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

issued a condemnation of the practice. Other states, like

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, still apply the decree.

Treatment under Council of Europe law

In at least one case ('' Vogt v. Germany'', 1995), the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

found Germany in breach of its responsibilities to a citizen (, a dismissed teacher who was an active member of the German Communist Party) under Article 10 (right to freedom of expression) and Article 11 (right to freedom of assembly and association) of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

. The government subsequently settled with her, providing compensation for her time without full earnings, topping up her pension rights for that period, as well as other modest damages and costs.

References

* ''Bulletin of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany'' no. 15 of 3 February 1972, p. 142 * '' Vogt v. Germany'', European Court of Human Rights, sitting as a Grand Chamber in Strasbourg, main judgement delivered 2 September 1995. Case number 7/1994/454/535. Application number 17851/91.

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