Germany's highest court has stopped proceedings in a case filed by the state against the extreme right-wing National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD). The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled the state's evidence was tainted by its use of informants to gather intelligence on the party. The informants had infiltrated the NPD leadership and had the opportunity to influence the party's direction, the court argued. The decision marks the end of a two-year campaign to ban the NPD for inciting racial hatred in direct defiance of the constitution. Interior Minister Otto Schily voiced regret at the ruling, saying he sided with the four judges on the seven-member panel who voted to resume proceedings. The case needed support from a two-thirds majority to continue.

Winfried Hassemer, the presiding judge on the court, said the government's case had been compromised by its use of testimony from party members who had been paid to work their way into the NPD leadership and report back to investigators. Hassemer contended the state's use of informants created a "lack of clarity that can no longer be overcome." Over the past several years about 30 of the 200 members of the NPD leadership have had ties with Germany's domestic intelligence service, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

Schily said he saw little hope for a renewed attempt to ban the NPD, although the court stated it had not ruled out another case against the party. NPD leader Udo Voigt also expressed disappointment that the case had been closed. "A decision on the matter would have been important for our party," he said.

Founded in 1964, the NPD attracted its widest support in the late 1960s, when it had representatives in several state governments. It now has a total membership of about 6,500 and plays a negligible role in electoral politics. The German government views the party as a danger to the democratic order, however, because of the nationalistic and racist messages it spreads through public demonstrations and aggressive rhetoric.

Political parties can be banned in Germany if they are ruled a danger to democracy or hostile to the German constitution, the Basic Law. Since the Federal Republic was founded Two parties have been declared illegal under this rule: the far-right Socialist Reich Party (SRP) in 1952, and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in 1956.