Pronouncement of the judgment in Organstreit proceedings concerning the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada (CETA)

Press Release No. 5/2021 of 19 January 2021

Reference: 2 BvE 4/16

Based on the oral hearing of 13 October 2020 (cf. Press Releases No. 70/2020 of 7 August 2020 and No. 84/2020 of 10 September 2020), the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court will pronounce its judgment on

Tuesday, 2 March 2021, 12:00 a.m. (not 10:00 am, as previously announced),
in the courtroom of the Federal Constitutional Court,
Schlossbezirk 3, 76131 Karlsruhe.

Information for the general public

Persons wishing to attend the oral hearing or the pronouncement of the judgment must register at the following address: 

Mr Stadtler
Postfach 1771, 76006 Karlsruhe, Germany
Phone: +49 721 9101-400
Fax: +49 721 9101-461
Email: besucherdienst@bundesverfassungsgericht.de

When registering, please provide your name, first name, date of birth, and contact details (a phone or fax number or an email address). 

Please refer to the Federal Constitutional Court’s data protection statement for information on the protection of personal data (Arts. 13 and 14 GDPR) in the context of visitor registration. The data protection statement is available on the Federal Constitutional Court’s website under the heading “Data protection”. You may also request a paper copy of the data protection statement.

Seats will be allocated in the order in which registrations are received.

Accreditation requirements for journalists

Accreditation

The accreditation procedure starts when this press release is published and ends on Thursday, 25 February 2021 at 12:00 noon. After this deadline, accreditation is no longer possible.

Please use the form provided for accreditation requests. The form must be filled in completely and signed. If applicable, a copy of the valid press card must be enclosed; this is only necessary for the first accreditation request made during the card’s period of validity. The accreditation request may be sent by email to presse@bundesverfassungsgericht.de or by fax to +49 721 9101-461. Accreditation requests sent to any other email address or fax number of the Court will not be considered.

Members of the Justizpressekonferenz Karlsruhe e.V. may send their accreditation requests to the Federal Constitutional Court’s press office without having to use the form.

Accreditation requests will be considered in the order in which they are received. If requests are received simultaneously, accreditation is awarded by drawing lots. A few days after the  deadline, the Federal Constitutional Court will notify the applicants by email whether their accreditation was successful.

Please refer to the Federal Constitutional Court’s data protection statement for information on the protection of personal data (Arts. 13 and 14 GDPR) in the context of the accreditation procedure. The data protection statement is available on the Federal Constitutional Court’s website under the heading “Data protection”. You may also request a paper copy of the data protection statement.

Availability and allocation of seats

Due to current measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, only a total of 15 seats are available for media representatives on the press galleries inside and outside the courtroom. Seats are allocated in the order in which requests are received. Media representatives who cannot obtain a seat in the press gallery may follow the oral hearing or the pronouncement of the judgment in the press room or – if seats are available– in the courtroom itself.

There will be an audio transmission from the courtroom to the press room. The press room is equipped with 18 desks. A limited number of power outlets for laptops is available. The Federal Constitutional Court cannot guarantee the availability of mobile phone signal and data networks.

Additional rules in the courtroom

Making phone calls, tweeting or sending other messages, accessing digital data and any other use of the Internet within or from the courtroom is not permitted. All electronic devices which can be used for these purposes, in particular mobile phones, laptops and tablets, may not be used in the courtroom. Media representatives may obtain permission to use computers in offline mode in the press gallery if it has been ensured that the device will not be used to record audio or images or for data transmission.

Taking photographs and filming; pooling

1. With regard to oral hearings, taking photos and recording audio or video is permitted until the presiding Justice of the Senate has established the presence of the parties to the proceedings. Afterwards, photographers and camera crews must leave the courtroom level (including the foyer outside the courtroom and the press gallery). They may wait in the reception room on the first floor. It is permitted to make video and audio recordings of pronouncements of judgments in their entirety.

2. Media pools will be set up for taking photographs and filming in the courtroom. Two television crews (a public and a private television station with a maximum of three cameras each) and six photographers (four agency photographers and two freelance photographers) will be admitted to the courtroom. The pool representatives are required to supply their photos and video recordings to other radio and television stations and to photo agencies upon request.

Willingness to be a pool representative must be explicitly stated in the accreditation request. Pool representatives are appointed according to the order in which the accreditation requests are received. If requests are received simultaneously, the function of pool representative is allocated by drawing lots. The television stations, agencies and photographers that serve as pool representatives are free in determining the members of their teams.

3. When taking photographs and filming in the courtroom, photographers, camera operators and other media representatives must ensure that the Justices have an unobstructed view in all directions. Entering the area behind the Justices’ bench is not permitted. Instructions to this effect by court staff must be complied with. Taking photographs and filming is only permitted with low-noise devices and without a flash.

4. After the end of the oral hearing or the pronouncement of the judgment and during the lunch break, interviewing, filming, or photographing the parties to the proceedings or other individuals is permitted in the reception room on the first floor and the foyer on the ground floor.

Vehicles of radio and television crews; technicians

Only a limited number of parking spaces is available for SNG vehicles, editing vehicles, and OB vans. If accredited journalists require parking space, this must be indicated alongside the accreditation request on the form provided. Parking spaces are allocated in the order in which requests are received. The following information is required for the allocation of parking space: number plate, vehicle type, make, dimensions (length x width x height in metres), weight and, if applicable, whether access to a power outlet is needed.

The names, dates of birth, and ID card numbers of the accompanying technicians, as well as the vehicle data may be submitted after the request. The form provided must be used. This also applies to media represented by members of the Justizpressekonferenz. The form must be sent by email to presse@bundesverfassungsgericht.de, or by fax to +49 721 9101-461, by Monday, 1 March 2021, 12:00 noon, at the latest.

Media representatives with allocated parking space may set up the equipment on the day before the oral hearing from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on the day of the oral hearing or the pronouncement of the judgment between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.

Setting up studios

The press office must be consulted in advance if media representatives wish to set up a studio. Studios may be set up in the reception room on the first floor and in the foyer on the ground floor.

This information is based on § 17a of the Federal Constitutional Court Act in conjunction with the supplementary provisions laid down by the First and the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court.