Court: Cross decree in Bavarian authorities is legal

Verdict - Court: Cross decree in Bavarian authorities is legal

The crosses in Bavaria's authorities can stay up. The Federal Administrative Court dismissed complaints against the controversial cross decree issued by Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder (CSU). The regulation, which has been in force since 2018, stipulates that a cross must hang in every state building in Bavaria.

The highest German administrative court in Leipzig rejected an appeal against a previous decision by the Administrative Court (VGH) in Munich on Tuesday. The crosses did not violate the right of other ideological communities to freedom of religion. The Federal Administrative Court also ruled that they did not violate the ban on discrimination on the grounds of faith under fundamental law.

The lawsuit was brought by the religiously critical Association for Freedom of Thought. It demanded the repeal of the decree and the removal of the crosses. However, the association had already conceded defeat before the Administrative Court last summer. Although the Administrative Court had seen a violation of the state's duty of neutrality, it essentially classified the crosses as passive symbols "without a proselytizing and indoctrinating effect".

Criticism even came from churches

In April 2018, the Bavarian cabinet passed the cross decree on the initiative of Söder, who had just become Minister President at the time. Despite fierce criticism - even from the churches, which accused Söder of misusing the Christian symbol for election campaign purposes - the decree came into force in June 2018.

Paragraph 28 of the rules of procedure for the authorities of the Free State of Bavaria now states: "A cross must be clearly visible in the entrance area of every office building as an expression of Bavaria's historical and cultural character."

The Association for Freedom of Thought had already announced the next step before the verdict was announced: In the event of a defeat, it would appeal to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe.

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1. The Bavarian Minister President, Markus Söder (CSU), faced criticism from churches when he initiated the cross decree in 2018.
2. The cross decree, a regulation issued by Söder, states that a cross must be visible in the entrance area of every office building in Bavaria as a symbol of its historical and cultural character.
3. The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig upheld the cross decree, dismissing complaints against it and ruling that it did not violate the right of other ideological communities or the ban on discrimination.
4. The religiously critical Association for Freedom of Thought initially brought a lawsuit against the cross decree, demanding its repeal and the removal of the crosses, but conceded defeat before the Administrative Court in Munich last summer.
5. The crosses in Bavarian authorities were found to be legal by the Administrative Court, which classified them as passive symbols without a proselytizing or indoctrinating effect.
6. The Federal Administrative Court's ruling was based on the fact that the crosses did not violate the right of other ideological communities to freedom of religion or the ban on discrimination on the grounds of faith under fundamental law.
7. The Bavarian Government's administrative court decision was upheld by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, a move that has been welcomed by the CSU and Conservatives in Saxony, Germany.
8. The Association for Freedom of Thought has announced that they will appeal to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe if they suffer a defeat in their legal challenge against the cross decree.

Source: www.stern.de