Popular initiative "Hamburg expropriated" before the Constitutional Court
The Senate has appealed to the Constitutional Court due to legal concerns regarding the popular initiative "Hamburg expropriated". A court spokesperson confirmed to the German Press Agency on Tuesday that an application was received last week with the aim of establishing that the next stage - the referendum - should not be carried out. Accordingly, the Senate is obliged to appeal to the court in the event of legal objections to the implementation of the referendum.
"In cases of this kind, the Hamburg Constitutional Court has to examine whether the underlying popular initiative respects the limits of the Hamburg Constitution and is compatible with other higher-ranking law," explained court spokesman Kai Wantzen. The Senate Chancellery stated that there were "considerable doubts" in this regard. According to Wantzen, the court will decide on the implementation of the referendum, which is suspended during the proceedings, after the examination.
According to the popular initiative "Hamburg Enteignet", more than 18,000 Hamburg residents had supported the demand for a socialization law for the Hanseatic city. The aim of the initiative is to expropriate large housing companies with more than 500 apartments in order to reduce rents.
The signatures of the supporters were handed over to the Senate in March of this year. The Senate confirmed that the required number of at least 10,000 signatures had been reached. It was reported that the citizens' assembly had dealt with the matter in a public meeting. However, only the left-wing parliamentary group supports the initiative. Just over a month ago, the initiators then applied for the next step - a referendum - according to the Senate. If this is successful, it would ultimately pave the way for a referendum.
Criticism of the Senate's approach came from the left-wing parliamentary group on Tuesday. Its spokesperson for rent policy, Heike Sudmann, said: "The Senate has not found an effective and sustainable means of combating the rent explosion for years."
According to her, expropriating profit-oriented housing companies would help the tenants affected. However, the Senate wants to continue "its cuddly course" with the same housing industry and "windy" investors. "Going to the constitutional court is driven by desperation and the desire to divert attention from their own failures," said Sudmann.
The Senate is concerned about the legality of the popular initiative "Hamburg Enteignet" under the Hamburg Constitution, as it involves expropriating large housing companies. The housing policy proposed by the initiative aims to reduce rents by socializing these companies, but its compatibility with higher-ranking laws needs to be evaluated by the Hamburg Constitutional Court.
Source: www.dpa.com
