German court suspends ban on right-wing Compact Magazine amid ongoing legal proceedings News
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German court suspends ban on right-wing Compact Magazine amid ongoing legal proceedings

The Federal Administrative Court of Germany ruled on Wednesday to suspend the ban imposed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) on COMPACT-Magazin GmbH, which is classified as a right-wing extremist company. This allows the company to continue its operations as a press and media outlet while the legal proceedings are ongoing.

On July 16, 2024, Federal Minister of the Interior and Community Nancy Faeser announced a ban on COMPACT-Magazin GmbH, citing that it is directed against the constitutional order.

On July 24, COMPACT-Magazin GmbH filed a lawsuit challenging the ban, which is still pending, as well as an urgent application for interim legal protection. Based on the summary examination of the prohibition order conducted during the expedited proceedings, the court held that the prospects of success for the action brought by the applicant were uncertain. Certain passages in the publications distributed by the applicant indicate potential violations of human dignity. Additionally, it appears that the applicant frequently adopts a combative and aggressive stance towards fundamental constitutional principles in many of its contributions. However, given the largely unobjectionable content in the magazine’s issues concerning freedom of opinion and the press, the court expressed doubts as to whether the passages in question are so important to the overall orientation of the applicant that the ban could be justified on the grounds of proportionality. Therefore, the court believed that possible milder measures should be considered, such as press and media regulations, event bans, and restrictions and bans on assemblies.

Under Article 5 of the Basic Law of  Germany, freedom of the press and reporting utilizing broadcasts and films shall be guaranteed. Since enforcing the ban would immediately cease all publication activities of the application, its interest in suspension is particularly significant in light of the fundamental rights to freedom of opinion and freedom of the press. Therefore, the court ruled that the interest of the applicant in suspension outweighed the public interest in immediate enforcement and suspended the ban.

In response to the decision, Faeser stated that the main proceedings were still pending and upheld her belief that the ban was justified.

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