Mannheim (dpa/lsw) - The Corona regulations in Baden-Württemberg during the first lockdown in spring 2020 were now formally illegal because of the way the state government announced them. The Administrative Court (VGH) in Mannheim decided on Monday that the emergency announcement on the Internet did not meet the requirements for an effective copy.
A completed original document signed by the Prime Minister, among others, was only available a few days later for both the Corona Ordinance of March 17, 2020 and the subsequent amending ordinances. In the matter, the VGH confirmed that shops and facilities were closed.
A fitness studio (Az.: 1 S 926/20), an owner of three restaurants (1 S 1067/20) and an operator of perfumeries (1 S 1079/20) had sued. They wanted to establish that the closure of their businesses during the first lockdown was unlawful in order to be able to claim damages and compensation.
The Administrative Court rejected urgent applications in April 2020 and has now decided in the main proceedings. From the point of view of the top administrative judges in Baden-Württemberg, the Corona regulations are based on an adequate legal basis and do not violate the fundamental rights of the owners of the closed businesses.
"The judgments have a meaning that goes beyond the three individual cases, since they are the first main decisions on the lockdown in spring 2020 in Baden-Württemberg and nationwide decisions by the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Constitutional Court on the legality of the first lockdown are not yet available," said the VGH With. In all three cases, an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court was allowed.
