BLLStatementRegardingSection40Subsection1aLFGB

Go back

Aug 13, 2018 - Foods

BLLStatementRegardingSection40Subsection1aLFGB

In August 2014, the BLL had the opportunity to submit a statement as an expert third party to the Federal Constitutional Court as part of the regulatory control procedure to review § 40 para. 1a LFGB. The procedure was initiated by the Lower Saxony state government after the Higher Administrative Court of Lüneburg expressed legal concerns regarding the constitutionality of the norm. The BLL had closely followed the original legislative process by which § 40 para. 1a was introduced into the Food and Feed Code, and at that time had already raised significant legal concerns against the version now subject to review. 

In the BLL's view, § 40 para. 1a LFGB is incompatible with the Basic Law. The regulation massively infringes on the fundamental rights of food companies, yet is not constitutionally designed. In particular, the regulation contradicts the principle of proportionality, as it does not provide for a time limit on publication, includes trivial cases, and links a mere suspicion of violation to a binding decision. By linking to a fine prediction, § 40 para. 1a No. 2 LFGB additionally violates the principle of legal certainty and the presumption of innocence guaranteed by the rule of law.