A court in Munich ruled on Thursday that German border checks were unlawful in three individual cases, citing concerns over the prolonged duration of controls at the Austrian-German border and their compatibility with revised rules governing the Schengen visa-free travel area, but rejected a request to halt future checks.
The administrative court said a key consideration was that the checks, particularly on the border with Austria, had remained effectively unchanged for years despite the updated legal framework governing the Schengen area.
The Schengen agreement, which set up an area in Europe where border checks are no longer carried out, includes 25 EU member states and four non-EU countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Three men had sued the federal government over the checks. The written reasoning for the rulings is to be delivered within a few weeks.
Injunction against border checks rejected
The court, however, rejected an emergency application by Munich resident Werner Schroeder - who regularly commutes to the Austrian city of Innsbruck - seeking to prevent future checks.
A court spokesman said citizens generally have to tolerate state measures initially and may only seek a subsequent ruling on their legality. Interim legal protection is available only in exceptional cases involving the threat of serious and irreparable harm, the court said.
However, it noted that an appeal to the Bavarian Administrative Court of Appeal is possible.
