German Constitutional Court second senate vice president Doris Koenig announces a verdict at Germany's Federal Constitutional Court on the 2012 U.S. drone strikes in Yemen, that were steered from the U.S. air base in Ramstein, in Karlsruhe, Germany, July 15, 2025. REUTERS/Heiko Becker
BERLIN (Reuters) -Berlin is not violating international law by allowing the United States to use a military base on German soil to conduct drone strikes, Germany's constitutional court ruled on Tuesday.
The court ruling was in response to a constitutional complaint filed by Yemeni nationals whose relatives were killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2012.
At issue is the question of whether Germany has a responsibility to ensure that using a relay station for sending satellite data to drones at Ramstein Air Base does not violate international law.
The court ruled that while Germany does have a general duty to protect fundamental human rights, even those of foreigners abroad, the conditions triggering that duty were not met.
Berlin's view that the U.S. interpretation of international law is fundamentally acceptable falls within the discretion granted it in foreign and security policy, said the court.
The German government had argued that Germany's ability to take part in military alliances would be jeopardised if it had to ensure operations conducted by foreign militaries abroad adhered to Germany's understanding of international law simply because they had a base on German soil.
The United States and Germany are allies in NATO and Washington has had a military base at Ramstein since 1948.
(Reporting by Ursula Knapp, Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Madeline Chambers)
