Recently, the court in Munich dealt with this exact question. The case was brought about by a laboratory from Cologne against a competing laboratory in Munich. The court decided in favor of the laboratory in Munich.

The ruling clarified that the child has a right to privacy however the father has also the right to test for paternity.

According to the court, it is allowed to perform secret paternity tests in Germany.

In detail, the court decision reads as follows:

“While the child has a constitutional right to privacy, the father (be he legal or biological) has also a constitutional right to know, if the child is his biological child.”

If a court decides to request genetic testing of a child, the interests of the child and the father need to be carefully weighed.

Therefore a secret test without knowledge of all parties would be considered less detrimental to the wellbeing of a child than a test that has been ordered by the court. Even in cases that are not covered by the law a test may be prudent. For example: A child is born in wedlock, the husband acknowledges the child as his without being sure that he is the biological father. The potentially biological father has a right to have a test done, even in secret if necessary to clarify his paternity. The court would consider that to be in favor of the wellbeing of the child. (Az. 17HKO 344/03)