Wunsiedel Case

BVerfGE 124 (2009)

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Wunsiedel Case

Germany Federal Constitutional Court
BVerfGE 124 (2009)

Facts

Jürgen Rieger, a German lawyer (plaintiff), applied for permission to hold a recurring annual assembly in Wunsiedel, Germany, to commemorate Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler’s deputy in the Nazi party from 1933 to 1941. Authorities banned the requested assembly on public-security grounds, citing § 130.4 of Germany’s Criminal Code. Section 130.4 provided that any person who publicly or as part of an assembly disturbed the public peace by approving, glorifying, or justifying Nazi rule was subject to a fine or imprisonment. Rieger complained to the Bayreuth Administrative Court, asserting that § 130.4 was unconstitutional because, among other things, the law infringed on the freedom to express opinions guaranteed by German Basic Law Article 5.1. The lawyer further claimed that even if § 130.4 was generally constitutional, the law was not constitutional as applied to the proposed Hess tribute. The Bayreuth Administrative Court dismissed Rieger's complaint. Rieger then complained to the Bavarian Administrative Court and Federal Administrative Court, which also dismissed the complaint. Rieger appealed to the German Constitutional Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

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