Even after the end of the Corona measures, tens of thousands of cases are still open in the municipalities in Bavaria because of fines imposed. This was the result of a survey by the German Press Agency in six large cities in Bavaria.
The district administration department (KVR) of the city of Munich still has to process around 22,000 of the around 46,000 procedures since the beginning of the pandemic for violations of corona measures, as a spokeswoman said. The authority plans to do this within the three-year limitation period.
In Nuremberg, 4,600 of around 16,800 advertisements are currently still open. According to the city, it should take at least two years until all procedures are completed. The city of Augsburg currently has 1,300 procedures to process. Around 11,400 ads were received there during the pandemic. According to a spokeswoman, all but four of the approximately 5,800 procedures in Regensburg have been completed. In 20 cases, a decision is still pending before the district court.
The cities of Ingolstadt and Würzburg have already processed all the advertisements. In Ingolstadt, the administration had to process around 4700 reports, in Würzburg the number of procedures was 4300. During the corona pandemic, violations of the mask requirement, quarantine requirements and exit restrictions were punished.
In certain cases, fines paid can be reclaimed
According to a judgment by the Federal Administrative Court, the April 2020 ban on staying outdoors outside of your own home alone or with roommates was not lawful. In these cases, those affected can reclaim fines that have already been imposed. If a corresponding procedure is still open in the municipalities, it will be discontinued according to the Bavarian Ministry of Health.
But the municipal administrations are also very busy with the processing of all other open procedures. A spokeswoman for the KVR in Munich announced that the timely processing far exceeded the personnel capacity of the fine office. The result is long processing times.
Also stopping the pending procedures is not an option for the municipalities or the Ministry of Health: A blanket cessation of the pending procedures would conflict with the principle of equal treatment. “It would undermine the population’s trust in uniform law enforcement and would arbitrarily privilege those affected whose proceedings – for whatever reason – have not yet been completed,” said a ministry spokeswoman.