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Parallels: Pandemic and Tension Case

··726 words·4 mins
Politics Society Tension Case Pandemic Emergency Fundamental Rights Corona
Table of Contents

Definition Tension Case
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The tension case, defined in Article 80a Paragraph 1 GG, activates certain provisions that are normally only applicable in the defense case. This enables the application of security and precautionary laws. These laws allow measures such as the reintroduction of conscription, compulsory assignment to work in war-critical sectors, seizure of means of transport, and restriction of fundamental rights such as freedom of movement, housing guarantee, and postal and telecommunications secrecy. The Bundestag can lift these measures at any time, whereby the lifting must be immediate and complete.

The determination of the tension case requires an increased threat situation for the existence of the state, such as an escalation-suspect foreign policy conflict situation that could lead to an armed attack with high probability. The formal determination by the Bundestag requires a majority of two thirds of the votes cast, which ensures a high parliamentary legitimacy standard.

The legal consequence of the unlocking includes the labor security law, the traffic security law, the security of supply services, and the reintroduction of conscription, which in this case applies up to the 60th year of life. The Bundestag has the right to dissolve the application of the measures, and the federal government is obliged to comply with this request immediately and completely. The tension case is a preliminary stage to the defense case, which requires an even higher probability for an armed attack.

In the tension case, state authorities can temporarily seize goods such as vehicles, businesses, or apartments to ensure defense tasks. This is a time-limited measure, not a permanent expropriation. Permanent expropriation is only permissible for the benefit of the general public and against appropriate compensation (Art. 14 GG). This regulation also applies in the tension case, but special legal bases can be used for this. All measures are subject to judicial review, and the Federal Constitutional Court ensures that proportionality is maintained and fundamental rights are not disproportionately impaired.

Parallels to the Covid Pandemic
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At first glance, there seem to be no parallels to the 2020 pandemic. Upon closer inspection, however, we find the following:

Emergency Regulation: Both situations trigger extraordinary emergency regulations that would otherwise never come into force.

Restriction of Fundamental Rights: In Corona, movement and travel freedom were restricted, while in the tension case fundamental rights such as freedom of movement and housing guarantee are impaired.

Introduction of Duties: In Corona there were mask requirements and distance rules, in the tension case conscription up to 60 years could be introduced.

Channeling of Money Flow: In Corona, contactless payment and fines for non-compliance with measures were introduced, while in the tension case vehicles, businesses, and apartments could be seized.

Solidarity vs. Common Good: In Corona it was said that one should vaccinate out of solidarity, in the tension case it is about the common good.

Psychological Test: In Corona everyone believed in a deadly virus that turned out to be a cold virus. In the tension case everyone believes that the Russians are attacking, which so far is only rhetoric.

Probabilities: In both Corona and the tension case, probabilities are assumed, e.g. the overload of hospitals or a Russian attack.

It remains to be seen how many people here also fail the psychological test and dutifully fulfill their duty.

14 Citations
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  1. Germany and COVID-19: What went wrong? – DW – 06/28/2025 www.dw.com

  2. German government response to the COVID-19 pandemic - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org

  3. Dataset of 69 German COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO) surveys on pandemic attitudes, feelings and behaviours | Scientific Data www.nature.com

  4. Crisis-proof households? How social policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic imagined work and care in Germany | Journal of Social Policy | Cambridge Core www.cambridge.org

  5. German economic crisis (2022–present) - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org

  6. Covid-19 and Leviathan – the German case - GIS Reports www.gisreportsonline.com

  7. Dynamics of contact behaviour by self-reported COVID-19 vaccination and infection status during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: an analysis of two large population-based studies | BMC Medicine | Full Text bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com

  8. Germany’s macroeconomic drivers during the pandemic and inflation surge link.springer.com

  9. COVID-19 pandemic - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org

  10. COVID-19 pandemic in Germany - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org

  11. 2024 German government crisis - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org

  12. Comparing U.S., Japanese, and German Fiscal Responses to Covid-19 www.csis.org

  13. Public health in Germany: structures, dynamics, and ways forward - The Lancet Public Health www.thelancet.com

  14. Emergency Powers in Pandemic Response | The Regulatory Review www.theregreview.org

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