An appeal hearing in the dispute over the classification of the AfD by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution begins today (9 a.m.) at the North Rhine-Westphalia Higher Administrative Court (OVG). The Federal Office (BfV), based in Cologne, had classified the party and the youth organization Junge Alternative (JA) as suspected right-wing extremist cases. The administrative court in Cologne confirmed this view in 2022. Since then, the party and the JA have been allowed to be monitored using intelligence means. The party has lodged an appeal against the judgment from Cologne. The highest administrative judges in North Rhine-Westphalia are now clarifying in an oral hearing whether the BfV’s assessment is legal.
The two party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are not expected to appear at the hearing. Former Bundestag member Roman Reusch will come from the federal executive board. The court has scheduled a second hearing date for Wednesday (March 13). It remains to be seen whether there will be a verdict on the first or second day.
Court moves to the entrance hall
Because of the large number of people involved in the process and around 100 registered journalists, the OVG moved to the entrance hall of the court. The court itself keeps all 15,000-page files digitally. The administrative files of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution are held in 275 file folders and stored in a separate room at the OVG. The parties involved will each bring their own copies to the oral hearing.
The fact that the AfD is legally defending itself against the Cologne Administrative Court’s decision has no suspensive effect as far as the party’s observation is concerned. This means that in recent months the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has been allowed to use intelligence tools such as observation and tapping informants (so-called informants) to find out whether the suspicion of extremism is substantiated or not.
OVG Münster as the final factual authority
In the previous instance, the administrative court in Cologne saw sufficient evidence of anti-constitutional efforts within the AfD. This also applied to the JA case. In the conflict between the AfD and the Federal Office, the Higher Administrative Court is the final authority. This means: The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, as the possible next and final instance, only carries out a pure legal review. Clarification of the facts by a court and applications for evidence by the AfD or the Federal Office are only possible up to the OVG.
Most recently, there was a large demonstration in Münster with around 30,000 people against a New Year’s reception of the AfD in the historic town hall. “The Münster police will take special measures to protect the court hearing and to ensure that it runs smoothly. This includes, among other things, barriers,” said police spokesman Jan Schabacker when asked by the dpa. By the beginning of the week, a demonstration with around 20 participants had been reported to the police.
