BERLIN, May 7 (Reuters) - German participation in a NATO air reconnaissance mission over Turkey shortly before the Iraq war began in 2003 was unconstitutional because it was not approved by parliament, Germany's top court ruled on Wednesday.

The decision, by the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, reaffirmed the strict rules governing German military operations that have existed since World War Two.

It could limit the flexibility of German governments to deploy troops swiftly in response to military developments. Berlin has already come under pressure from NATO partners, notably the United States, for ruling out a shift in its troops from northern to southern Afghanistan. The court case focused on a decision by the government of former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who opposed the U.S.-led Iraq war, to allow German air forces to participate in a February-April 2003 mission to protect Turkish air space.

It did so without asking the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, arguing the mission was part of Germany's regular commitment to NATO operations.

Under German law, missions in which German armed forces personnel could be engaged in combat must be signed off by lawmakers and Schroeder's decision prompted a complaint by the Free Democrats (FDP).

Responding to the complaint, Germany's constitutional ruled Schroeder's coalition of Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens should have sought Bundestag approval as the possibility of armed engagement was real. "NATO was seriously prepared for such an armed engagement by March 18, 2003 at the latest because the beginning of combat in Iraq was generally expected," it said. "There was clearly more than a mere abstract possibility of armed engagement."

The German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, have gradually taken on more responsibility in international missions since the late 1990s. They are currently serving in Afghanistan and the Balkans, but participation in military mission abroad remains highly sensitive.

The FDP welcomed the ruling, but Bernd Siebert, a parliamentary spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, said the decision restricted the government's room for manoeuvre. (Reporting by Iain Rogers; editing by Keith Weir)

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