Court invalidates Brandenburg shipment - without reversal in effect
In the tail end of 2022, the coalition of SPD, CDU, and Greens managed to push through a financial aid package for the 2023/24 fiscal years, thanks to a state of emergency declared due to the ongoing Ukraine conflict. This move allows for the taking on of new debt in extraordinary situations. The opposition AfD initiated challenges against both the state of emergency declaration and the budget law itself.
Their legal maneuvers somewhat paid off. Although the Constitutional Court dismissed their appeal to overrule the state of emergency declaration, the AfD did succeed in challenging the regulations around taking on credits and sanctioning additional expenditures.
According to news outlets, the Brandenburg Court, while deciding on the matter, largely relied on the standards established by the Federal Constitutional Court in their November budget ruling. The debt control regulations at the federal level were found to be nearly identical to those in the state constitution, the court noted. As such, the same standards should apply.
The provisions of the budget law were found wanting when it came to the standards required for emergency credit borrowing. Although it is true that a state of emergency exists due to the Ukraine conflict, the court asserted, the lawmakers assumed that this situation was beyond state control and had significantly impacted the financial situation.
Yet, the lawmakers failed to clarify how the state of emergency could be addressed or resolved through the financial aid package. The court could not determine which specific measures were planned, making it unclear how the financial situation would improve. The Finance Ministry's future clarification of the matter was deemed irrelevant by the court, as it falls outside the realm of the legislator's jurisdiction.
However, the court concluded that there is no obligation to reverse the decisions made. Irreversible actions by public authorities should not be undone retroactively, and the consequences of those actions in the past cannot be undone.
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- Despite the SPD, CDU, and Greens' successful implementation of the Brandenburg package in the face of the Ukraine emergency situation, the opposition AfD challenged both the state of emergency declaration and the budget law itself.
- The Constitutional Court dismissed the AfD's appeal to overturn the state of emergency declaration but acknowledged their success in challenging the credit and expenditure regulations.
- The Brandenburg Court, while ruling on the matter, relied heavily on the Federal Constitutional Court's November budget ruling and its similar debt control regulations mentioned in the state constitution.
- The provisions of the Brandenburg budget law were found to be inadequate for emergency credit borrowing, as the lawmakers had not clarified how the state of emergency could be addressed or resolved through the financial aid package.
- The Constitutional Court concluded that there was no obligation to reverse the decisions made, stating that irreversible actions by public authorities should not be undone retroactively.
- The CDU and SPD, along with other parties, may need to revisit their approach to financial aid packages and emergency credit borrowing in light of the limitations highlighted by the Constitutional Court and the need for clearer regulations.
