Decision of the Federal Court on the Amendment of the Concordat on Measures against Violence on the Occasion of Sports Events

Facts

In this judgment, the Federal Court examines the constitutionality of the amendments to the Concordat on Measures against Violence on the Occasion of Sports Events of 2 February 2012. The Concordat regulates specific police measures for the prevention of violence at sports events, such as bans on entering certain areas, reporting requirements, and police custody. The main points of the judgment are: - The Concordat constitutes administrative police law and is not to be classified as criminal law. The measures serve to prevent violence and not to punish. - The extension of the temporal and spatial scope of application of the Concordat to conduct before and after sports events is constitutionally permissible. - The introduction of a licensing requirement for certain sports events with conditions for safety, such as combined tickets for away fans, is permissible. - The regulations on personal searches at stadium entrances and in fan transport are constitutionally compliant, provided the principle of proportionality is observed. - However, the introduction of a minimum duration of one year for bans on entering certain areas is disproportionate. Likewise, the mandatory doubling of the duration of reporting requirements in case of violations without excusable reasons is not compatible with the principle of proportionality.

Considerations

The Federal Court holds that the Concordat is to be qualified as specific police law for the prevention of violence at sports events. The measures such as bans on entering certain areas, reporting requirements, and police custody are not intended to punish, but to prevent future acts of violence. Therefore, they are not to be classified as criminal law, but are subject to the requirements of administrative law. In the Court's view, the extension of the temporal and spatial scope of application of the Concordat to conduct before and after sports events is constitutionally permissible. However, the connection to the sports event and the fan base of a team must be maintained. The Court considers the introduction of a licensing requirement for certain sports events with conditions for safety, such as combined tickets for away fans, to be a permissible measure for the prevention of violence. However, the…