Interim injunction prohibiting evaluation of law firm seizure materials from diesel scandal investigation; conflict between professional confidentiality and criminal enforcement

The Federal Constitutional Court (Second Senate, Third Chamber) ordered the repetition of a previously issued interim injunction for a period of six months, or until a final decision on the underlying constitutional complaints, thereby upholding the procedural freeze and effectively allowing the respondents to prevail in maintaining the status quo. The dispute concerned a constitutional complaint challenging the prosecution and judicial authorities' intent to evaluate documents seized from a law firm during an investigation into the "diesel scandal," specifically targeting those materials obtained in the context of the firm's client engagement for internal corporate investigations, which the applicants argued violated their professional secrecy and privacy rights. The decisive legal basis for the interim protection included the constitutional right to a fair hearing and the presumption of innocence, weighed against the public interest in criminal enforcement, justifying the continuation of the ban on data processing to prevent irreparable harm to the legal professional's confidentiality obligations pending the full constitutional review.