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Germany Approves Law Allowing Electronic Ankle Monitors to Enforce Domestic Violence Orders

It aims to speed protection in high-risk cases by giving family courts powers to order monitoring, require anti-violence training, send automated location alerts to victims.

Overview

  • The Bundesrat approved the reform on Friday, June 12, 2026, completing parliamentary approval after the Bundestag and paving the way for courts to start using the new tools.
  • Family courts will be able to order electronic ankle monitors in high-risk cases, provide victims with warning devices, and set a wider ‘warn zone’ that triggers automated alerts when offenders approach restricted areas.
  • The law requires offenders to wear monitoring devices and to carry a government-provided mobile phone so the coordinating office can track location and contact them when limits are breached.
  • The package also creates a legal basis for mandatory anti-violence training for offenders, raises the maximum prison term for violating protection orders to three years, and lets courts request weapons-register information for risk assessments.
  • Officials say the measures respond to more than 250,000 recorded cases of domestic violence a year and frequent partner killings, but implementation will hinge on building a coordinating office, police capacity, devices and clear judicial safeguards.