The night-time alcohol ban in James-Simon Park and Monbijou-Park no longer applies – the Berlin administrative court lifted it eleven days before the planned end. The ban was originally supposed to last until September 11th. First, as “BZ” and “RBB” had reported.
A complaint can be lodged against the decision with the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court, a court spokeswoman said on Monday. She did not initially give any further details about the procedure.
The Mitte district wanted to prevent party excesses with the nocturnal alcohol ban in the two parks. The “Working Group of Critical Lawyers at Humboldt University” (AKJ) had appealed the decision to the court. The justification of the district is not conclusive, argued the AKJ. In July, the district wanted to prevent the littering of the park on Berlin’s Museum Island, noise pollution and wild urination with the ban.
The AKJ justified the objection with the fact that these are administrative offenses anyway, which are prohibited in the legal framework for green spaces. The AKJ further said there was no evidence supporting the district’s claim that the primary cause of these infractions was alcohol consumption. The court agreed with the arguments of the AKJ and prematurely lifted the nocturnal alcohol ban.
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From the court’s point of view, the ban is not suitable for protecting green spaces from such excesses, according to a statement published on Monday. The grievances did not result from the consumption of alcohol as such, it was said as a reason.
While the AKJ was happy about the success of the objection, district mayor Stephan von Dassel (Greens) spoke in the RBB of “very positive experiences with the nocturnal alcohol ban”. The ban simplified the work of the police and the regulatory office, said von Dassel. These would have had to intervene less during the period of the ban.
“It was significantly less effort than if – as before – the police had to use a large number of personnel to ensure order,” explained von Dassel.
