This publication is aimed at professors, scientists and scientific staff at universities and non-university research institutions as well as representatives of these organizations1 working in the field of “export control and research activities“. It deals, in particular, with the rights and obligations that apply in this area. While scientific freedom is enshrined in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany („Grundgesetz“), research activities must nevertheless comply with the provisions of export control.

The publication was created with the cooperation of organizations including the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, the Leibniz Institute DSMZ, the Robert Koch Institute and the Technical University of Berlin. BAFA is grateful for their participation.

We should point out that this publication cannot cover all possible aspects of the subject matter and therefore does not claim to be exhaustive. Reading this publication does not relieve you of the responsibility of reviewing export control regulations. However, it does offer wide-ranging advice, especially with regard to finding relevant information and means of communicating with BAFA.

You should also note that the statements contained herein are not legally binding. It is possible that different assessments may be reached by prosecutors or courts in individual cases.

The publication is valid as of January 2019.