On this page you will find the latest information on the state of my court case which aims to establish that public institutions, including in my case the public broadcasters, are obliged to accept the legal tender, euro cash. The case is currently being heard at the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
14 June. 2021 | The highest German administrative court Bundesverwaltungsgericht has announced that it intends to issue the final ruling early in 2022.
4 February 2021 | ESTA, the European association of cash handling companies has issued an opinion on the ruling of the European Court of Justice in my case. They agree with me that the justification of the court for postulating that the obligation to accept the legal tender can be restricted by national and sub-national lawmakers is severely flawed. More …
26 January 2021 |The European Court of Justice has issued a rather complex ruling. It states that restrictions to mandatory acceptance of euro banknotes and coins by national and sub-national lawmakers are possible under certain conditions. From here, my case will go back to the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal administrative court) for a final decision.
27 October 2020 | ESTA, the association of the European cash management industry, has published a position paper contradicting the assessment of the EU Advocate General. More …
29 September, 2020 | The EU Advocate General has published his opinion, stating that EU law provides that creditors have an obligation in principle to accept cash and the European Union and the Member States can, however, impose, under specific conditions, limits on the use of euro banknotes as a means of payment. Read the opinion and my comments.
June 15, 2020 | The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice, composed of 15 judges, today held the oral hearings on the questions referred by the Bundesverwaltungegericht (Federal Administrative Court) in my case against Hessischer Rundfunk regarding their refusel to accept payment in cash. The Advocate General announced that he would issue his recommendation on September 29. More …
June 8, 2020 | Based on documents obtained from the EU archives (with difficulty and much delay), I show that the main justification used for national restrictions on the use of the EU legal tender, recital 19 of the euro changeover legislation from 1998, was only meant to regulate issues arising during the changeover period and is thus not a proper legal basis for such restrictions. More …
March 29, 2020 | In my legal dispute with Hessischer Rundfunk over its refusal to accept cash, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) set the date of June 15 to deal as a Grand Chamber and in oral proceedings with the questions referred by the Bundesverwaltungegericht (Federal Administrative Court). More …
September 11, 2019 My lawyer Carlos A. Gebauer has sent our opinion to the European Court of Justice on the questions referred by the Federal Administrative Court.
June 6, 2019 The Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) has published the detailed reasoning for its decision. It contains gratifyingly clear sentences about what the status of the legal tender means.
March 29, 2019 On Wednesday March 27, 2019, the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer questions to the European Court of Justice for clarification. In its decision, the judges made it clear that, in contrast to the lower courts,they interpret §14 of the Bundesbank Act, which defines euro-banknotes as the legal tender, as obliging all public authorities to accept payment in cash. The file number is BVerwG 6 C 6.18.
March 2, 2018 The Hessian Administrative Court (Hessischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof) delivered the written reasoning for their judgment. It borders on the ridiculous, with grotesque argumentative leaps and bounds.
February 13, 2018 The Hessian Administrative Court in Kassel today dismissed our appeal against the judgment of the Administrative Court in Frankfurt, but – most importantly – approved the appeal before the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) in Leipzig.
February 2,.2017 A scholarly article ripping appart the judgment of the Frankfurt Administrative Court was published.
December 1,.2016 The administrative court in Frankfurt informed us that they dismissed my claim for cash payment of the duties to the public broadcaster. Appeal to the Hessische Verwaltungsgerichtshof (Hessian Administrative Court) is permitted, though.
October 31, 2016 The judges of administrative court in Frankfurt did not give an indication, how they would rule after the oral hearing today.
January 16, 2016 During my ongoing courtcase for payment of the public broadcaster fee at the Frankfurt Administrative Court, the broadcaster (Hessischer Rundfunk) has threatened enforcement of the money I owe, even though it refuses to take my money (cash), which I am offering. I have therefore deposited the amount owed with the district court. Note: Even though the Hessische Rundfunk did not accept this deposit as payment of the fee, this resulted in the agreement on a stay of all demands until the courtcase is decided.
October 20, 2015 My lawsuit against the refusal of Hessischer Rundfunk to accept payment of the duty for public radio and tv in cash has now been filed. I would like to thank “Prometheus – Das Freiheitsinstitut” for the kind support and my lawyer Carlos A. Gebauer for writing the application.
February to September 2015 I canceled my standing bank order, with which I previously had my public broadcaster fee transferred automatically. Upon written warning, I asked the Hessischer Rundfunk where I could pay the fee fee in cash. I was told that this was not possible because the statute of the broadcaster does not provide for this. I did not accept this and referred to §14 of the Bundesbank Act, which declares euro banknotes to be unlimited legal tender. The broadcaster sent me an official notice that cash payment was not possible. I appealed against this. The broadcaster rejected my objection and told my I could and would have to go to court if I did not accept this.
