Trial: Judgment in the dispute between the AfD and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution on May 13th

The North Rhine-Westphalia Higher Administrative Court will announce a verdict in the appeal proceedings in the dispute between the AfD and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) on Monday. This was announced by the presiding judge, Gerhard Buck, at the end of the oral hearing in Münster.

In the proceedings, the AfD is defending itself against the fact that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution lists the entire party as a suspected extremist case. In the first instance, the Cologne Administrative Court ruled in favor of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: the judges saw sufficient evidence of anti-constitutional efforts within the AfD. Because the Federal Office is based in Cologne, the courts in North Rhine-Westphalia are responsible.

Another exchange of blows in court

On Tuesday, the lawyers for the AfD and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) continued their exchange of blows. This involved, among other things, statements on over 470 applications for evidence that were rejected around a week ago. The AfD representatives expressed their lack of understanding of the court’s decision. The 5th Senate must ask itself whether the standard of proof applied is still the correct one. “What can actually be done to guarantee the principles of the rule of law?” asked AfD lawyer Christian Conrad.

The lawyer for the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Wolfgang Roth, accused the AfD of not having used the last four years since the first lawsuit before the administrative court in Cologne. “There was plenty of time. The process doesn’t just start when they submit their applications. This could all have started much earlier in the written procedure.”