Mission Statement Export Control

The aim of German and European export controls is to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the uncontrolled transfer of conventional military equipment. The aim is to prevent sensitive goods from being used for internal repression or other serious human rights violations, or from being supplied or otherwise made available abroad for the purpose of supporting terrorism. The aim of export controls is not to restrict research or to censor its findings, but solely to prevent their misuse.

Against this background, universities and research institutions in a wide variety of fields have links with other countries. On the one hand, this concerns various types of exports (goods, technology, knowledge). On the other hand, it also concerns the education of international students, joint research with international partners, or the employment of international researchers.

In this context, universities and research institutions must also comply with the provisions of foreign trade law. The freedom of research and teaching under Article 5(3) of the Basic Law does not exempt them from this obligation.

Breaches of foreign trade law may not only call into question the university’s integrity, but may also result in enormous damage to its reputation. 

Criminal consequences (fines and/or imprisonment) for those involved are also possible. 

The existence of a functioning export control system, set out in an Internal Compliance Programme (ICP), can at least exonerate those responsible for exports from allegations of organisational failure. 

Given the complexity of this issue, the Centre of Excellence for Finance in North Rhine-Westphalia (KoFi) has produced the guide ‘Export Control and ICP – A Guide for Universities of Applied Sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia’ to serve as a basis and resource. This serves as a kind of handbook for the various processes required at universities to ensure compliance with export control regulations. 

The Executive Board of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences has, in accordance with its resolution of 5 December 2023, expressly committed itself to complying with foreign trade regulations and the objectives of export control.