Top German court rejects lawmakers’ request for NSA targets

BERLIN – Germany’s top court has rejected German lawmakers’ demands for access to a secret list of U.S. eavesdropping targets.

Parliament’s intelligence oversight panel, known as the G 10 committee, had asked the constitutional Court to force the German government to hand over the list. It contains “selectors” — such as phone numbers and email addresses — that the U.S. National Security Agency wants allies to monitor.

Following ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden’s leaks in 2013, German media reported that the targets included officials and companies in Germany and other European countries.

The court on Friday ruled against the committee for technical reasons, arguing that it didn’t have the necessary constitutional authority to demand access to the list.

A separate case brought by two left-wing opposition parties is still pending.