German Constitutional Court: Authorization to shoot down aircraft void

The German Constitutional Court decided on February 15th, 2006, that the authorization for armed forces to shoot down hijacked aircrafts is void. The law lacks a proper legislative competence and violates the fundamental rights of life and human dignity.

The law was made as a reaction to September 11th, 2001. It enabled the German air force to shoot down aircrafts which are supposedly used as weapons by terrorists.