Privacy

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As privacy ( Latin intimus "innermost" and gr. Σφαίρα sphaira "shell") refers to the most intimate , innermost and most personal thoughts and feelings (the Federal Court defines it as the "inner thoughts and feelings and the sexual area" - see Legal ). Disclosure of the intimate sphere usually only takes place in the utmost intimacy and outside of this is referred to as a "violation of the intimate sphere" and can, for example, result in a compromise towards other people. The term privacy is to be distinguished from the terms privacy and individual sphere .

Cultural aspects

The areas that the intimate sphere encompasses and the boundaries they enclose are culturally different and subject to social change. In Christian and Occidental regions, for example, the area of ​​one's own body belongs to the intimate sphere - this includes sexuality , nudity and , under certain circumstances, illnesses . For privacy can continue z. B. include family or relationship life, especially if this is burdened by problems or religious ideas and feelings. Decisive for the determination of the intimate sphere is the individual feeling for what is “innermost” and “most personal” in a person.

Legal

Germany

The privacy is protected in Germany by the general right of personality (APR). This is based on Article 2, Paragraph 1 ( free development of personality ) in conjunction with Article 1, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law (protection of human dignity ). In APR, the intimate sphere comprises the inner world of thoughts and feelings and the sexual area. In addition, parts of the intimate sphere are covered in the Basic Law by the right to life and physical integrity (see Article Fundamental Rights ). The private sphere is basically closed to government access. A decision of the Federal Constitutional Court of February 4, 2009, which clarifies that "an investigation into the intimate area of ​​detainees on remand prisoners is only constitutional if there are concrete suspicions" may serve as an example of the seriousness of this will to protect.

Another example: In November 2011 the Federal Court of Justice ruled a cuckoo child case. One man's partner had given birth to a son six months after the final separation, who she said was from the previous partner. He recognized paternity and among other things paid alimony. After a paternity test revealed the fraud or false testimony of the mother, he wanted to find out the name of the father in order to reclaim the maintenance from him. According to this judgment, a pseudo father can request information about the biological father from the mother of the child. The mother's right to protection of her privacy is no stronger than the pseudo-father's right to effective legal protection.

Austria

The right to privacy in Austria is based on Section 16 of the Austrian Civil Code (ABGB) , which is an integral part of modern Austrian private law, and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights . Since 2004, there has been an explicit claim for compensation in the event of intrusion into private life by § 1328a ABGB . It should be noted that the terms privacy and intimate sphere are largely used synonymously in Austrian law, or the following applies: "The core of the private sphere is the highly personal area of ​​life" - this cannot always be clearly delineated, but in any case includes health, sex life and life in and with the family. The Supreme Court has confirmed in several judgments that Paragraph 1328a ABGB is applicable to various cases. For example, house parties who had set surveillance cameras on the communal space were convicted, as were stalkers and people who had made the content of private conversations available to the public. Most recently, the Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that the provision not only includes information-related privacy such as reading third-party mail or illegal telephone surveillance, but also applies in the event of intrusion into the physical intimate sphere (without exceeding the threshold for sexual activity, which would be a sexual offense ) .

literature

  • T. Günther: Structural change in the intimate sphere. To modernize the private. Sociological Contributions Volume 13, Hamburg 1997, ISBN 3825834921 .
  • Luzian Verborgen: The couple's privacy. Schardt, 2002, ISBN 3898410625 .

Web links

Wiktionary: privacy  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. BVerfG decision of July 16, 1969 , Az. 1 BvL 19/63, BVerfGE 27, 1 (“Microcensus”).
  2. BVerfG judgment of December 15, 1983 , Az. 1 BvR 209, 269, 362, 420, 440, 484/83, BVerfGE 65, 1 (“ census ”).
  3. BVerfG, decision of February 4, 2009 , Az. 2 BvR 455/08.
  4. ^ BGH judgment of November 9, 2011 , Az.XII ZR 136/09, full text.
  5. Stephan Gärtner: Hard negative features on the test bench of data protection law. A legal comparison between German, English and Austrian law , Verlag Dr. Kovac, Hamburg, 2011, p. 335
  6. Law set for 6Ob103 / 07a , Supreme Court
  7. decision Text 4Ob200 / 11g , Supreme Court