More than a thousand lawyers demand AfD ban proceedings in open letter

Under Article 21 Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law, parties are to be classified as unconstitutional "die nach ihren Zielen oder nach dem Verhalten ihrer Anhänger darauf ausgehen, die freiheitliche demokratische Grundordnung zu beeinträchtigen oder zu beseitigen oder den Bestand der Bundesrepublik Deutschland zu gefährden." The signatories base their demand on this provision.

Legal Basis: Article 21 of the Basic Law

With the letter, the lawyers are addressing members of parliament from all parliamentary groups as well as the federal government. They point to their special responsibility as professionally trained experts in law and constitutional matters.

The RAV and the Society for Civil Liberties had already demanded ban proceedings against the AfD in earlier statements. With the open letter, they are now increasing the pressure and at the same time campaigning for public support from the legal profession.

Nothing has yet been reported about the exact number of signatories or about reactions from the federal government and the Bundestag. A date for a possible filing of an application is also not known.

Political Context of the Debate

The initiative comes at a time when the debate about how to deal with the AfD and possible legal steps against the party is being conducted nationwide. Supporters of ban proceedings see it as a necessary instrument for defending the liberal democratic basic order. Critics warn of a further polarization of political discourse.

The open letter joins a series of similar appeals from recent years. Within the legal professional community, the question of whether and under what conditions a party ban can succeed before the Federal Constitutional Court has long been controversial.

This news item was broadcast on 03.08.2026 on Deutschlandfunk.