Corona vaccination requirement in the Bundeswehr: Two officers complain - judge has to reprimand the audience

Created: 05/02/2022, 21:38

By: Christoph Gschossmann

The lawsuit brought by two Air Force officers against compulsory corona vaccination in the Bundeswehr was heard in Leipzig.

© Jan Woitas

There is a corona vaccination requirement for Bundeswehr soldiers – but for how long?

Two Air Force officers are complaining.

Munich/Leipzig - Will the corona vaccination requirement in the Bundeswehr be overturned?

On Monday, the Federal Administrative Court dealt with the legality of compulsory injections for German soldiers.

The hearing before the first military service senate in Leipzig dealt with the complaint of two officers against the inclusion of the Covid 19 vaccination in the list of compulsory vaccinations for soldiers.

The two see this as a violation of fundamental rights and call for the vaccination to be removed from the list.

There hasn't been a decision yet - the negotiations will continue at the beginning of June.

Corona: Vaccination for Bundeswehr soldiers has been mandatory since the end of November

Since the end of November, active soldiers and reservists have been obliged to tolerate the corona vaccination, provided there are no medical reasons to do so.

The basis is the Soldiers' Law, which also stipulates compulsory vaccination for tetanus, hepatitis and other diseases.

The Federal Administrative Court is responsible here in the first and last instance.

June 7th and 8th are planned as the next dates.

Among other things, the legal basis for the mandatory corona vaccination in the Bundeswehr and the danger of the corona virus in general were discussed in the negotiation.

The plaintiffs presented several experts who spoke, among other things, about the possible consequences of vaccination.

The plaintiff argued that the Covid-19 vaccination was not suitable for preventing communicable diseases.

It also does not prevent infection or disease.

The representatives of the Federal Ministry of Defense, however, consider the legal regulations for the mandatory corona vaccination for professional soldiers to be lawful and rejected the application.

Corona: Decision will only affect suing Air Force officers

A general end to the vaccination requirement is not linked to the case: At the beginning, the presiding judge Richard Häußler made it clear that a decision in the present case only affects the two plaintiff officers, both of whom are members of the Air Force.

"Every soldier can only fight for his rights," said Häußler.

According to this, a total of around ten proceedings “from a wide variety of soldiers from a wide variety of units” are currently pending before the Federal Administrative Court.

According to the representatives of the Federal Ministry of Defense, the regulation on basic vaccinations for soldiers "overall serves to prevent corresponding diseases".

It is also about ensuring the operational readiness of the armed forces.

According to the Bundeswehr, around 60,000 activated corona cases were registered among soldiers by the end of April.

Corona: Many vaccination critics in the audience – Richter refuses applause

The plaintiffs argued that in the age group between 18 and 65 years represented in the Bundeswehr, there was generally no risk of serious illnesses.

They see no legal basis for "such a far-reaching regulation" as the mandatory vaccination for soldiers and pointed out that a Covid 19 vaccination itself could also be potentially fatal.

In addition, the vaccines are insufficiently researched.

In addition, the plaintiffs see the basic right to physical integrity and the basic right to life affected by the compulsory vaccination.

In addition, it is about human dignity if they are forced to "participate in a study," said the lawyers with a view to the new mRNA vaccines.

It is also about freedom of occupation, because soldiers end up risking their jobs if they refuse the vaccination.

The other side, however, denied that the vaccination against the corona virus was an “experiment”.

There were obviously many opponents of vaccination in the audience.

The presiding judge forbade applause several times.

When he pointed out that the Federal Ministry of Defense was not talking about "compulsory vaccination" either, there was loud laughter from the audience.