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German Constitutional Court Dismisses Decade-Long Challenge to Broadcast Fee

The court ruled the complaint inadmissible for not exhausting administrative remedies, sparing it from reviewing any substantive oversight claims.

Gebäude des Bundesverfassungsgerichts in Karlsruhe
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Eine Verfassungsbeschwerde gegen den Rundfunkbeitrag ist in Karlsruhe gescheitert. Sie war unzulässig, weil der Beschwerdeführer die wesentlichen Fragen nicht schon von den Verwaltungsgerichten hatte klären lassen.

Overview

  • The Federal Constitutional Court declared the plaintiff’s challenge to MDR broadcasting fees for 2014–2015 inadmissible on procedural grounds.
  • Judges found he failed to present his transparency and independence concerns first to the relevant administrative courts.
  • The dispute revolved around roughly €300 in fees and allegations that MDR oversight bodies lacked sufficient state separation and openness.
  • In its decision the court did not examine the substance of his claims about nontransparent oversight or program diversity.
  • MDR’s 2021 state treaty reforms had already capped state-affiliated members in its oversight bodies at one third and enhanced transparency.