Dortmund Files Lawsuit Against the AfD Party
Dortmund Seeks Legal Action Against AfD Over Use of City Coat of Arms
The city of Dortmund has announced that it will file a motion against the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party at the Dortmund Regional Court, seeking an injunction against the use of the city's coat of arms on election posters. The dispute centres around the upcoming North Rhine-Westphalia local elections.
The city administration argues that parties cannot use municipal coats of arms in election campaign materials without explicit permission. In this specific case, Dortmund has legally ordered the AfD party to remove the city's coat of arms from its posters, citing legal provisions that reserve the use of coats of arms exclusively to the municipality itself.
Dortmund references Section 14(2) of the North Rhine-Westphalia Municipal Code and Section 12 of the German Civil Code, which clarify that only the municipality holds the rights to use its coat of arms and flags. These laws serve as legal grounds to prohibit political parties from employing municipal symbols in campaigns without authorization.
The AfD has argued that they have previously been allowed to use a modified coat of arms by the city, such as the CDU and the Free Voters in the 2014 local election campaign. However, Dortmund explains that those uses were either tied to temporary permits or project funding-based exceptions, which no longer apply. Hence, those prior instances do not constitute a general right to unrestricted use.
The city has threatened to seek an injunction through the Dortmund Regional Court should the AfD fail to comply. The AfD has stated it will wait for the court's ruling before deciding on any appeal. The AfD local branch has previously rejected a request for cessation from the city administration, and so far, they have refused to remove the city coat of arms from their posters.
The request also applies to any signs that are confusingly similar. Existing posters with the city coat of arms should be destroyed or made "permanently and completely unrecognizable." The city claims this use is illegal due to reasons of neutrality.
This case underscores the broader principle that municipal symbols are protected and generally may not be used by political parties in campaigns without permission, reflecting a common legal standard in Germany. No indication from the search results suggests that parties have a general right to use municipal coats of arms freely during elections. Rather, official authorization is required, especially highlighted by Dortmund's current enforcement action against the AfD.
The European Parliament, considering the ongoing dispute between Dortmund and the AfD party over the usage of the city's coat of arms, may find it relevant to address this incident as a part of general-news, given its implications for politics in Germany. The case serves as a reminder to political parties that using municipal coats of arms in election campaigns necessitates explicit permission, a fact reinforced by Dortmund's legal action against the AfD.
