Legitimate Interest – Definition

A legitimate interest is sometimes a subjective assessment that often serves as an exception to prohibitions. The decisive factor here is proportionality, meaning concretely in detective investigations that the protected personal interests of the target person are considered less significant than the interests of the client. For this case to apply, at least a justified initial suspicion must exist.

Relationship Between Target Person and Client

In many cases, when assessing legitimate interest, the relationship between the target person and the client is important. For example, a husband may have his wife observed if there is a suspicion of marital infidelity, but a neighbor may not have her neighbor observed simply because she believes he is having an affair with the gardener. An employer may investigate an employee if there is a specific suspicion of a crime harming the company (for example, fraudulent sick leave), but not out of mere personal interest in the employee’s private activities. A mother can, in most cases, have her lost son searched for, while a man may only have his former classmate investigated with restrictions, meaning that the found classmate must be asked by our detectives in Munich whether we may share his contact information. In this case, a legitimate interest does not initially exist.

We are happy to advise you on your individual case without obligation: +49 89 7007 4378-0.

Aaden Detective Agency Munich assesses each case individually.

Thus, we see that legitimate interest is a justification for suspending prohibitions. In German law, legitimate interest is defined rather vaguely in numerous statutes. For individual case decisions, court rulings often need to be used as references. In principle, investigations by the Aaden Corporate Detective Agency Munich must pursue a protected interest (for example, protecting the employer from time theft). This protected interest often conflicts with the interests of the target person (personal rights). A careful balancing must therefore take place. An initial suspicion must exist (for example, customer loss, suspicious statements by the employee to colleagues, etc.).

Legitimate interest can be confirmed to us by your legal representation.