What does a constitutional complaint against the curfew and corona measures cost?
Because the question is asked very often now:
Free but difficult
The constitutional complaint to the Federal Constitutional Court is free. Everyone can collect this themselves and does not need a lawyer. The constitutional complaint must be made in writing and justified. There are a few difficulties with admissibility. Especially with the so-called self-concern. You cannot attack a regulation in general or even complain about the violation of the fundamental rights of third parties. You must be concerned yourself, immediately, and presently. It is not easy to represent this. Therefore, a lawyer is generally recommended.
High justification requirements
The justification requirements for a constitutional complaint are usually very high and most constitutional complaints are not even accepted for decision. As a complainant, you have to deal with the previous case law of the court in detail, among other things. This means many hours of work and even professors fail. In the case of the curfew, it could be a little easier, as there is no to very little case law on this.
Legal protection insurance & legal fees
The costs for a representation in the context of the constitutional complaint are usually not covered by any Legal protection insurance worn and amount to around 3,000 euros for me, which have to be paid as an advance. Unfortunately, I’ve had too many negative experiences lately.
Wait as an option
Another note: lawsuits, urgent motions and complaints against various “corona measures” are currently pending in a large number of courts. This applies in particular to the amendment to the Infection Protection Act announced today and the curfew contained in Section 28b IfSG. So in principle you can just wait. Both private individuals and entrepreneurs are suing.
The current developments can be found on the website of the Federal Constitutional Court and in the media. On the court’s website you will also find a leaflet on the requirements for your constitutional complaint (Merkblatt.pdf (bundehttps: //www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/merkblatt.pdf? __blob = publicationFile & v = 18sverfassungsgericht.de))
Need for action in the event of claims for damages
Only if you do later Claims for damages argue, we should talk about exhaustion of legal remedies. The rule here is that you are obliged to reduce the damage by exhausting what is known as primary legal protection. The details of this are very difficult and controversial. Advice on this can make sense and costs around 500 euros for me, depending on the time required.
Dr. Olaf Hiebert
Lawyer
Specialist lawyer for insolvency law
Lecturer at the University for Police and Public Administration in North Rhine-Westphalia
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