Die Kontrolle der Nachrichtendienste – Ein Vergleich zwischen den Niederlanden und Deutschland

• December 2011
• Jonathan Vrijma

• BIGS Essence Number 6

The most important similarities between Germany and the Netherlands are that both countries have a direct parliamentary body to control the intelligence services. These bodies both have statutory powers to ask the services questions about their actions and to monitor their functioning. In both countries, the Commissioners are not allowed to talk to the other Members of Parliament about this information. It can simply be said that the balance between the operational services and the controlling bodies is comparable in both countries. The control itself is carried out in a similar way in both countries, but the way in which it is carried out is different. In particular, this has to do with the fact that Germany lacks an independent body to control the intelligence services. The German control body, PKG, is very similar to the Dutch CIVD. However, the Netherlands also has a Commission that functions independently of politics. The scientific work of this Commission offers added value.