VIS Access Act

Basic data
Title:	Law on Police, Law Enforcement and Intelligence Services Access to the Visa Information System
Short title:	VIS Access Act
Abbreviation:	VISZG
Type:	Federal law
Scope:	Federal Republic of Germany
Legal matter:	Police and regulatory law
References :	188-104
Issued on:	May 6, 2009 ( BGBl. 2009 I p. 1034 )
Entry into force on:	September 1st 2013
Last change by:	Art. 34 VO of June 19, 2020 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 1328, 1332 )
Effective date of the last change:	June 27, 2020 (Art. 361 of June 19, 2020)
Weblink:	Text of the VISZG
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The German VIS Access Act ( VISZG ) determines the authorities who have access to the Visa Information System of the European Union and specifies the criminal offenses that justify access.

structure

The law has the following structure:

• § 1 Immediate applicability
• § 2 Authorized Authorities and Central Access Points
• § 3 Terrorist and other serious criminal offenses
• § 4 data protection control
• § 5 logging
• § 6 entry into force

content

In § 1 VISZG the provisions of Decision 2008/633 / JHA of the Council declared on 23 June 2008 for applicable. The law regulates the authorized access points in § 1 VISZG. According to § 3 VISZG, access may only be for the purpose of preventing , detecting and investigating terrorist and other serious criminal offenses . This represents an intervention empowerment . The privacy control is the responsibility according to § 4 VISZG the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information or the Data Protection Officer of the countries . § 5 VISZG stipulates that every query and transmission of data by the Federal Administration Office is logged.

According to § 6 VIZSG, the law came into force more than four years after promulgation on September 1, 2013; on the day from which the resolution 2008/633 / JHA of June 26, 2008 according to its Article 18 para. 2 applies. The Federal Ministry of the Interior announced the date of entry into force on August 8, 2013 in the Federal Law Gazette. This unusual regulation indirectly linked the entry into force to the operational readiness of the visa information system.

Access authorities

The following German visa authorities are authorized to access:

• Federation
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Federal Police Headquarters
  • Federal Office for Migration and Refugees
• countries
  • the 16 internal departments of the federal states
  • The Senator for Social Affairs, Children, Youth and Women of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen
  • Ministry for Family, Women, Youth, Integration and Consumer Protection Rhineland-Palatinate
  • Ministry for Justice, Europe, Consumer Protection and Equality of the State of Schleswig-Holstein

In addition, numerous German security authorities are authorized to access. These include:

• Federation
  • Federal intelligence services
    • Federal Intelligence Service
    • Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
    • Military counterintelligence
  • Federal Criminal Police Office
  • Federal Police Directorates and Inspections
  • Customs Criminal Police Office
• countries
  • State authorities for the protection of the constitution
  • State criminal investigation offices ,
  • other state police authorities
  • Public prosecutors

Terrorist and other serious crime

Access to the visa information system is in accordance with Section 3 VISZG in particular grants to combat terrorist organizations at home and abroad, serious acts of violence endangering the state, financing of terrorism as well as treason and endangering external security .

literature

• Wolf-Rüdiger Schenke , Kurt Graulich , Josef Ruthig : Federal Security Law - BPolG, BKAG, ATDG, BVerfSchG, BNDG, VereinsG . 2nd Edition. CH Beck, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-406-71602-7 , pp. 1079-1095 .

Web links

• European Visa Information System (VIS). In: https://www.bva.bund.de/ . Federal Office of Administration, accessed on January 9, 2019 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ List of the competent authorities whose authorized employees are authorized to enter, change, delete or query data from the Visa Information System (VIS). In: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/ . EU, March 17, 2012, accessed January 9, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Declarations concerning the designated authorities of the Member States and the designated central access point (s) that have / have access to the Visa Information System for data queries within the meaning of Article 3 (2) and Article 3 (3) of Decision 2008 / 633 / JHA of the Council. In: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/ . EU, August 14, 2013, accessed January 9, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Navid Aliabasi: The state-endangering act of violence. An analysis of §§ 89a, 89b and 91 StGB . Peter-Lang-Verlag 2017. ISBN 978-3-631-73028-7

Please note the information on legal issues!