No ban for Germany’s far-right NPD, Constitutional Court rules
NAN-F-12
Ban
Berlin, Jan. 17, 2017 (dpa/NAN) The Constitutional Court of Germany has rejected a bid by lawmakers to ban the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD).
On announcing the ruling in Karslruhe on Tuesday, Court President Andreas Vosskuhle said that the party’s radical ideology was not enough to merit a ban.
He said that it posed no active threat to democracy.
The NPD, frequently accused of having neo-Nazi links, has been losing influence through the years amid the rise of more socially acceptable right-wing populist movements.
According to the Germany constitution, plaintiffs must prove a party’s ideology is “combative and aggressive” and poses an active threat to the country’s democratic order.
This is the second time that the court in Karlsruhe has ruled against a bid to ban the NPD.
In 2003, the court rejected a similar attempt due to the high number of state informants who had infiltrated the party. (Reuters/NAN)
(Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Julius Enehikhuere)