Munich Administrative Court: Border checks declared unlawful in three cases – those affected must continue to tolerate them

What the court decided

Werner Schroeder, a legal scholar at the Institute for European and International Law, expressed outrage: "The question is, how many unlawful acts must one endure?" He feared "that existing law is actually being deliberately violated here," the legal scholar said. It was therefore high time to "end this unlawful wrong path."

In the plaintiffs' assessment, the checks constitute political arbitrariness. "Ultimately, this is political arbitrariness and we cannot tolerate that." That is how an involved party put it before the court. The plaintiffs complain of racial profiling and arbitrariness. All three affected individuals had gone to court after being checked in 2025.

The Munich Administrative Court did declare the checks retroactively unlawful, but rejected the affected individuals' requests for interim relief with regard to the public interest in border security. The measure therefore remains in force for the time being, until a final decision is made on the merits. In his reasoning, Judge Hubert Niedermayr pointed out that suspending the checks could have grave consequences for the security situation.

The Federal Interior Ministry's reasoning and criticism

There have been comprehensive checks at all German national borders since September 16, 2015, justified by the migration situation and the threat posed by cross-border crime. The Federal Interior Ministry had extended the orders several times. Critics see this as a violation of Schengen law, which only permits border checks within the Schengen Area in exceptional cases.

The plaintiffs announced that they would continue to pursue legal avenues and turn to the Bavarian Administrative Court of Appeal if the checks continued. In the Rosenheim region, a hotspot for cross-border commuter traffic to Tyrol, the case attracted particular attention.

Political reactions and next steps

There was sharp criticism from the political sphere over the Federal Interior Ministry's line. Marcel Emmerich, the Greens' parliamentary group's spokesperson on domestic policy, said: "It is the misguided and unlawful border policy of Alexander Dobrindt that has once again failed in court today." Dobrindt was a "minister for announced lawbreaking" and was thereby harming the democratic rule of law.

The Munich Administrative Court's ruling represents a defeat for the Federal Interior Ministry's line, but leaves the practice in place for the time being. Observers expect the main proceedings to be decided only several months from now.

The Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte announced that it would continue to accompany the proceedings and, if necessary, take the case all the way to the European Court of Justice. This could see the question of whether German border checks are compatible with EU law resolved at the highest judicial level for the first time.