Ralf Höcker

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Ralf Höcker (2016)

Ralf Höcker (born March 4, 1971 in Cologne ) is a German lawyer and author . Until his retirement from politics in February 2020, he was active in several groups in the CDU .

Life

Ralf hump studied law at the University of Cologne , received a scholarship from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and received his doctorate in 1999 in Cologne Dr. jur. He then completed a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in Intellectual Property Law at King's College London . He also worked from 1999 to 2000 as a foreign lawyer at the London law firm Willoughby & Partners / Rouse & Co., Int. From 2001 to 2003 he worked as a lawyer at the commercial law firm Linklaters Germany at its former location in Cologne (after the merger of Oppenhoff & Rädler with Linklaters, England).

In 2003, Höcker started his own business as a lawyer and founded his own law firm in Cologne, which has since been trading as Höcker Rechtsanwälte . He specialized in trademark and media law .

He also works at the private Cologne Business School , initially from 2008 to 2009 as a lecturer in German and international trademark and media law. Höcker has held a professorship for German and international trademark and media law there since 2009, as an employed professor from 2009 to 2014 and as an honorary professor since 2014. In addition, since 2010 he has been Scientific Director of the “German Institute for Communication and Law on the Internet” there.

Höcker is a permanent employee of the journal Der IP-Rechts-Advisor from the publishing house Dr. Otto Schmidt . At the Vocer Debate Forum , he sporadically wrote the fifth power column until 2015 . He is the author of numerous books and articles on media law.

Known processes and clients

Processes, clients (selection)

In the Kachelmann trial he represented the weather moderator as his media attorney and, in parallel to the work of defense attorney Johann Schwenn, carried out public relations work for Jörg Kachelmann ( litigation PR ). From the Axel Springer Group, Höcker sued more than half a million euros in compensation for pain and suffering and interest for reporting on the Kachelmann trial for his client.

Höcker represented Bundesliga soccer coach Felix Magath as a media lawyer in the initially confrontational separation from FC Schalke 04 .

In 2013, Höcker filed a constitutional complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court against the allocation of seats in the NSU trial for the Turkish daily Sabah . The Federal Constitutional Court granted the complaint and ordered that an additional contingent of seats be made available for foreign media representatives or that the accreditation procedure for journalists be repeated. The start of the process was postponed by the Munich Higher Regional Court by almost three weeks in order to re-regulate the accreditation procedure for journalists.

On behalf of an employee of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution , Höcker took action against, among other things, the daily newspapers Die Welt and Junge Welt , which had reported on the man's possible involvement in the NSU's bombing attack on Probsteigasse in Cologne in 2001. Höcker also had a Twitter user who had published a link to an article on Twitter containing the name of Höcker's client warned.

In connection with the 2006 World Cup scandal about the allegedly bought World Cup in Germany, Höcker filed a lawsuit against ex-DFB President Theo Zwanziger on behalf of former national soccer player Günter Netzer . Zwanziger had claimed that Netzer had testified to him that the four Asian votes had been bought at the 2006 World Cup. This quote initially served the investigative journalists of the Spiegel as the main indicator that a payment by the DFB in the amount of 6.7 million euros, the purpose of which is still unclear, had been used to purchase the 2006 World Cup. Netzer and Zwanziger reached an out-of-court settlement in April 2016. Together they declared: "Günter Netzer attaches importance to the fact that there was no statement from him in the said conversation that could be interpreted in such a way that the four Asian voices were bought at the 2006 World Cup." Theo Zwanziger said not to repeat his statement.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

In May 2016, Höcker submitted an application for an injunction against the CEO of Axel Springer SE Mathias Döpfner to the Cologne Regional Court on behalf of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan . Döpfner had publicly shown solidarity with Böhmermann in the course of the Böhmermann affair . The application was rejected in the first instance. In relation to the media, Höcker compared dealing with Erdoğan with “mass rape”, which led to disinhibition, in which everyone ultimately participated.

Höcker represents Erdoğan in all of his libel suits based on the Böhmermann poem in Germany, except in the lawsuit against Böhmermann personally.

Political positions, withdrawal from politics

At the beginning of May 2019, Höcker spoke on the subject of “Lawyers against journalists: a threat to freedom of the press?” At re: publica'19 , which, according to the company, is the largest conference of the digital society in Europe for network activists, bloggers, creatives and Artist.

On May 11th, 2019, Höcker held the “1st prize” organized by the AfD group in the German Bundestag . Conference of the Free Media ”gave a lecture“ for journalistic ethics and against fake news ”and stressed that he would“ also give it to the Antifa ”.

Höcker had been a member of the CDU and the Values Union since 2019 . On June 15, 2019, Höcker was elected honorary press spokesman for the Values ​​Union. On September 26, 2019 he was elected as the new chairman of the CDU local association Cologne Inner City South. Since October 2019, Hans-Georg Maaßen , ValuesUnions member and former President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, has been working as Of Counsel for the Managing Board of Höcker's media law firm. As press spokesman for the Values ​​Union, he said that " public broadcasting [belongs] in its current form."

On February 13, 2020, Höcker announced on Facebook that he was "leaving all political organizations" and justified this with a threat received on the same day. On March 31, 2020 it was announced that the public prosecutor's office was not aware of any threats against Höcker, and no criminally relevant coercion was found.

criticism

Höcker has been criticized for his political views and his "robust" mandate towards journalists.

According to a report from Welt am Sonntag published in June 2015, Höcker was, among other things, chairman of the supervisory board of Internetone AG, which is said to be involved in the operation of dating portals , which are regularly criticized by consumer protection agencies. Höcker denied the findings made against him in this context. As a member of the supervisory board, he was not involved in the operational business of Internetone. Nevertheless, he resigned from his position on the supervisory board. Höcker's law firm has represented Medusa United Media GmbH, operator of the dating portal Flirtcafe.de, which was heavily criticized by consumer advocates, since at least 2009. The Welt am Sonntag report also includes this portal in the Internetone AG network. The legal online magazine Legal Tribune Online was warned by a lawyer from the firm on behalf of the portal operator Ideo Labs GmbH as a result of reporting on Höcker's involvement in the operation of the dating portals, but resisted this warning.

In March 2017 it became known that Höcker also tried to prevent Stiftung Warentest from naming two self-sufficient companies because of their high-risk investment offers. "Ralf Höcker thinks it is his job to influence journalists by threatening them," writes Stiftung Warentest. Höcker replied to this quote in an interview with the NZZ : “Stiftung Warentest was pissed off because we banned it from having a magazine. She ran an illegal financial test, and we took action against it, and did it with success. [...] Of course it is my job to threaten journalists. Why should journalists be the only profession that cannot be threatened? [...] Of course, I threaten that there will be legal consequences if the law is violated. [...] Before a report appears, I try to find out what the report will look like and what illegal things might be in it. And then I try to keep that from happening. I show journalists the limits and define what is permissible. Specifically, that means: I threaten injunctions, counter-statements, compensation for pain and suffering, damages, whatever. "

media

Books

Ralf Höcker became known through three encyclopedias in which he clears up popular legal errors . The books belong to the non-fiction genre of the error encyclopedias that emerged in the mid-1990s . In addition, in another book, Höcker described curious cases that were heard in German courts. In the Langenscheidt dictionary lawyer-German / German-lawyer , he deals critically and humorously with the language of lawyers.

Television and stage

In 2007, Höcker was seen as an expert in a series on the Sat.1 show Files - Reporters Uncover , in which he cleared up some legal errors. In the same year he presented his stage show “Ein§§” on a tour of Germany.

In June 2009, Höcker and Andrea Kiewel presented a pilot program for the RTL television show “ Einspruch - The Show of Legal Errors ”, which was continued in July 2010. In February 2011, a new season was broadcast on RTL.

Works

Web links

Commons : Ralf Höcker  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c According to his own information on the website of his law firm: Prof. Dr. Ralf Höcker, LL.M. (IP) (London) >>  Vita. In: hoecker.eu. Retrieved February 18, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b Interview with Ralf Höcker. In: medienfische.de. August 12, 2012, accessed February 18, 2020 .
  3. ↑ http://www.ip-rb.de/staendige_mitarbeiter.htm
  4. ↑ Höcker auf Vocer , vocer.org/kolumnen/fuenfte-gewalt
  5. ↑ VOCER: Ralf Höcker has not been writing for Vocer since 2015. In: @VoiceOfVocer. October 20, 2019, accessed October 20, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Christina Maria Berr: Campaign against Mr. Kachelmann. Interview with media lawyer Ralf Höcker. December 16, 2010, accessed March 16, 2011 .
  7. ↑ Kachelmann case: Springer files a complaint with the Federal Court of Justice. In: Zeit Online. August 15, 2016, accessed November 10, 2016 .
  8. ↑ mopo.de: That's why Felix Magath resigned ( Memento from March 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ spiegel.de
  10. ↑ jungewelt.de
  11. ↑ DFB scandal: Netzer files a lawsuit against Zwanziger. In: Zeit Online. December 8, 2015, accessed November 10, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Zwanziger and Netzer reach an out-of-court settlement , Spiegel Online, April 24, 2016.
  13. ↑ Temporary injunction applied for: Erdogan takes action against Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. www.MEEDIA.de from May 9, 2016
  14. ^ Temporary injunction: Böhmermann case: No injunction against Springer boss Döpfner . In: sueddeutsche.de . ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed on May 11, 2016]).
  15. ↑ David Denk: Böhmermann Affair: Second goal . In: sueddeutsche.de . ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed on May 11, 2016]).
  16. ↑ stuttgarter-zeitung.de August 11, 2016: Erdogan's husband in the courtroom
  17. ↑ The CDU facing the ultimate test? Retrieved June 11, 2019 .
  18. ^ AfD in the Bundestag: Further training for right-wing conservative bloggers , by Tilman Steffen, Die Zeit May 8, 2019
  19. ↑ "First Conference of Free Media": How the AfD invited right-wing bloggers and identities to the Bundestag , by Till Eckert Correctiv May 21, 2019
  20. ↑ “Warning to dubious journalists”: Media attorney Ralf Höcker elected press spokesman for the values ​​union , Meedia from June 17, 2019, accessed June 18, 2019
  21. ↑ Honorary post Ralf Höcker becomes press spokesman for the Values ​​Union , Legal Tribune Online June 17, 2019
  22. ↑ South city center. Accessed December 30, 2019 (German).
  23. ↑ Finally official: Maaßen changes to HÖCKER. , hoecker.eu September 30, 2019
  24. ↑ Ex-constitution protection chief Maaßen changes to law firm , Tagesschau (ARD) September 30, 2019
  25. ^ Klaus Staeck: enemy image fourth power. In: fr.de. January 2, 2018, accessed February 22, 2020 .
  26. ↑ Ralf Höcker: Facebook post from February 13, 2020. February 13, 2020, accessed on February 13, 2020 .
  27. ↑ Spokesman for the Union of Values ​​resigns from all offices due to threats , on deutschlandfunk.de
  28. ^ Union of values ​​spokesman Höcker resigns , on tagesspiegel.de
  29. ↑ No threat, no investigation , on tagesschau.de
  30. ↑ See e.g. E.g. Moritz Küpper : The media lawyer Ralf Höcker. Search right where is right. In: deutschlandfunk.de. Deutschlandfunk , September 14, 2017, accessed on February 18, 2020 .
  31. ↑ See e.g. B .: Stefan Niggemeier : How Ralf Höcker tries to intimidate journalists. In: uebermedien.de. Übermedien , June 21, 2019, accessed February 18, 2020 .
  32. ↑ How sex and flirt portals rip off their users. Die Welt June 28, 2015.
  33. ↑ aboalarm.de
  34. ↑ Proximity to dubious dating portals? Media attorney Höcker contradicts Welt , Meedia from June 29, 2015.
  35. ^ Complaint Papst.de: Medusa law firm Ralf Höcker
  36. ↑ Consumer advice center warns of expensive flirt traps , T-Online of November 26, 2010.
  37. ↑ Why Ideo Labs is warning us , Legal Tribune Online July 6, 2015
  38. ^ Stiftung Warentest: Reporting on dubious providers: law firm threatens journalists
  39. ^ Stiftung Warentest: Höcker Rechtsanwälte - Fiese Threatening Methods - Notification - Stiftung Warentest. Retrieved May 25, 2017 .
  40. ↑ Benedict Neff : media lawyer Ralf Höcker: "I don't send any killer commands" . October 3, 2019, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed October 17, 2019]).
  41. ↑ objection! The show of legal errors. July 26, 2010, accessed March 16, 2011 .
personal data
SURNAME Höcker, Ralf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German lawyer and author
DATE OF BIRTH March 4th 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne