History
- Mode of operation until 1990
- Development since the genetic engineering act (GenTG) was passed in 1990
- Expansion of the circle of members
- 250th ZKBS meeting on 5 September 2023
The ZKBS was launched in February 1978 with the “Directives on protection against damage from nucleic acids which have been recombined in vitro”. At that time, the ZKBS consisted of twelve members:
- 4 experts in the field of recombinant nucleic acids
- 4 experts with particular experience in conducting research in microbiology, cell biology, hygiene and ecology
- 4 people from the social areas of trade unions, industry, occupational safety and research-promoting organizations.
Mode of operation until 1990
The ZKBS held a total of only 26 meetings between 1981 and 1988, which is about half as often as it does today. The reason for this was a procedure that deviated from the current procedure: For example, decisions or statements for projects with low security levels were made by two ZKBS members alone, provided that these two could agree.
Before the GenTG was enacted, the ZKBS not only had an advisory role, but was also partially authorized to make decisions. The committee had to check certain operations, such as self-cloning experiments, not only with regard to its security, but also had to approve it.
The ZKBS meeting on June 20, 1990 was undoubtedly a historical high point. The last ZKBS meeting before the GenTG came into force took place on this day. Since many applicants still wanted to use the old procedural rules, numerous applications were received in a very short time, so that the ZKBS had over 100 applications to decide on that day and met until after midnight.
Development since the genetic engineering act (GenTG) was passed in 1990
With the enactment of the GenTG in 1990, the procedures were changed as they are still known today. The number of ZKBS members was also increased to 15, mainly due to the increased workload (1 expert from the new area of safety technology, another expert from the area of ecology and an competent person from the area of environmental protection) - all members also became deputy members intended.
From then on, the ZKBS no longer had decision-making powers. Final binding decisions have been made by the responsible state or federal authorities. In the meantime, it has also been clarified by the administrative court that the authorities must take the ZKBS's opinions into account, but are not bound by them.
From 1990 the office of the ZKBS was located at the Federal Health Office and later at the Robert Koch Institute.
Expansion of the circle of members
In 2002, the second GenTG Amendment Act increased the number of competent members, so that since then a member from the field of consumer protection has also belonged to the ZKBS. This complied with the factual relation of genetic engineering to food production and the associated consumer protection.
In addition, the administrative office of the ZKBS has been part of the then newly founded Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) since 2004.
Finally, in 2008 the ZKBS received two additional experts from the fields of plant protection and toxicology as well as two competent members from the fields of agriculture and nature conservation. Since then, nothing has changed in the composition of the specialist areas.
250th ZKBS meeting on 5 September 2023
On 5 September 2023, the ZKBS held its 250th meeting. On this occasion, a festive event took place the day before at the silent green Kulturquartier in Berlin. The event focused on the latest technical developments in the field of genetic engineering, presented by ZKBS members and external scientists.
The event was opened by the President of the BVL, Friedel Cramer. The State Secretary of the BMEL, Silvia Bender, paid tribute to the work of the ZKBS in her welcoming address.
Prof. Dr. Wilfried Wackernagel was honoured for his more than 30 years of voluntary work in the ZKBS during the festivities. In two sessions, lectures were held on the topic blocks "The Regulation of Genetic Engineering" and "The Science of Genetic Engineering". The festivities were rounded off by a get-together with all participants in the silent green Kulturquartier.
You can find the programme and pictures from the festive event and the 250th meeting here under the item "250. Sitzung der ZKBS am 5. September 2023".