In the Corona crisis, larger stores have so far only been able to open to a limited extent. In some states, department stores are successful with lawsuits in court, elsewhere they fail. The Federal Constitutional Court has now decided on a first urgent application.
Berlin (dpa) - Department stores and large retailers must continue to live with a legal patchwork on the federal states' requirements for retail space in the Corona crisis.
Courts have ruled differently on bans on large businesses with over 800 square meters, according to decisions published on Thursday.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof failed in attempting to overturn the limit of retail space to 800 square meters. In Berlin, on the other hand, the branches of the department store group are allowed to open again over their entire area, as is the capital department store KaDeWe. In Baden-Württemberg and Hamburg, the courts also passed judgments - albeit with different outcomes.
The Federal Constitutional Court rejected an initial urgent request against the limitation of retail space due to the corona pandemic. A fashion house from Bavaria had sued. In view of the dangers to life and limb, the economic interests of large shops, shopping centers and department stores should currently step down, the Karlsruhe judges decided according to a decision published on Thursday. (Az. 1 BvQ 47/20).
In Bavaria, only shops with a maximum area of 800 square meters were allowed to reopen. The Bavarian Administrative Court had criticized this as unconstitutional, but had left the regulation in force. The state government then allowed larger stores to open. However, only 800 square meters of the total area may be used. The constitutional judges do not consider the suit of the fashion house to be hopeless. You need an in-depth examination. Previously, various other courts had declared the ban on large business sales unconstitutional - or classified as legal.
Small and medium-sized businesses up to 800 square meters were allowed to reopen a few days ago under conditions, for bookstores, car and bicycle dealers this is generally subject to conditions. There is fierce criticism from retailers about the 800-square-meter rule. Especially since there are different regulations in the countries.
In the capital, the ban on opening larger sales areas does not initially apply to "a large Berlin department store", said a court spokesman on Thursday. The administrative court had decided this in an urgent procedure. KaDeWe welcomed the decision and announced that it would be fully open again next week.
"However, most of the applicant's objections could not be followed," emphasized the judges. The 800 square meter restriction is not arbitrary, because a larger customer flow can be expected from this size. However, the court criticized that shopping centers could open across the entire area because the rules apply to each individual store. The decision of the administrative court can be appealed to the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg (OVG).
The branches of the department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof are also allowed to open again in their entirety in the capital. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the company failed with a lawsuit against the restriction. The Higher Administrative Court in Münster rejected an urgent request on Thursday, with which the retail giant had opposed the limitation of the retail space ordered by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia to combat the corona crisis. The court ruled that the country should control the flow of customers by restricting the sales area and thus reduce new chains of infection. The decision is final.
North Rhine-Westphalia allows stores to be opened if the sales area does not exceed 800 square meters. However, in addition to grocery stores, bookstores, furniture stores, baby specialty stores and points of sale in the motor vehicle and bicycle trade are explicitly excluded from the space limitation. Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof had opposed this.
The Baden-Württemberg Administrative Court contested the limitation on the grounds that trade in motor vehicles, bicycles and books was preferred. The Hamburg Higher Administrative Court, on the other hand, considers it an effective means of containing the corona virus, which is why the area limitation is legal.
Decision BVerfg