Lower Saxony Assembly Act

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Basic data
Title: Lower Saxony Assembly Act
Abbreviation: NVersG
Type: State Law
Scope: Lower Saxony
Legal matter: Special administrative law
References : GVBl. Sb 21031
Issued on: October 7, 2010
( Nds. GVBl. P. 465, ber. P. 532)
Entry into force on: February 1, 2011
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The Lower Saxony Assembly Act came into force on February 1, 2011.

Legislative competence

The 2006 federalism reform made it possible for Lower Saxony to enact its own law on the right of assembly . This gave the federal states the legislative competence for the right of assembly . In countries that have not yet passed their own assembly law or that do not want to do so, the “old” federal assembly law continues to apply according to Art. 125a GG .

Legislative process

The law was preceded by political disputes in the Lower Saxony state parliament . An alliance quickly formed against the draft law, which initiated extensive activities against the planned regulation.

Controversial points of the draft were in particular:

  • the ban on uniforms
  • Video recordings by the police and the question of whether the data should be stored or deleted.
  • the pacified district around the state parliament.

Differences to the previous regulation

The Lower Saxony Assembly Act differs sometimes considerably from the Assembly Act the federal government.

In particular, it should be noted that

  • there is a legal definition of the (previously controversial) term assembly, cf. § 2 NVersG. This means that two people who "come together for a joint discussion or demonstration aimed at participation in the formation of public opinion" already constitute an assembly.
  • the ban on wearing uniform has become part of the peacefulness of the assembly (not to be confused with the so-called ban on masking, which has been retained as a 'simple' ban, cf. § 9 NVersG).
  • the notification period according to § 5 NVersG for meetings in the open air is calculated differently than before: The 48-hour period still applies, but certain days are not included (Sundays, public holidays and Saturdays). However, the notification period only applies to a limited extent for so-called rush meetings, see the legal definition in Section 5 (4) sentence 1 NVersG and not at all for so-called spontaneous meetings, cf. the definition in Section 5 (5) NVersG.
  • the dissolution of a meeting in closed rooms is possible “if its peacefulness is directly endangered and the danger cannot be averted otherwise”.

Problems of the new regulation

Even if the law that has now come into force is only a scaled-down "light version" of the draft law that the CDU and FDP have introduced into the state parliament, there are still significant points of criticism of the regulation.

The following appears particularly problematic:

  • To include the prohibition of uniforms in peacefulness (for a detailed criticism of it see PDF ). According to the draft law, even carrying drums and flags out of an assembly can turn it into an “unpeaceful” assembly, that is, an assembly that mediates a willingness to use violence, with the result that it falls out of the constitutional protection of Article 8 (1) of the Basic Law. Whether this is constitutional, simply legal the peacefulness with reference to the much too indefinite Var. 3 of Section 3 (3) NVersG appears to be extremely questionable.
  • The comprehensive information that must be provided for the notification. Perhaps this could have a deterrent effect.
  • The calculation of the notification period, which moves the notification time forward considerably.
  • The fact that failure to report in time is an administrative offense. Anyone who does not comply is threatened with a fine of up to € 3,000 under Section 21 (1) No. 4 NVersG - critical given the fact that two people are already at a meeting. The meeting according to the NVersG is defined as follows: A meeting within the meaning of this law is a fixed or moving gathering of at least two people for joint discussion or demonstration aimed at participating in the formation of public opinion. §2 NVersG The goal of participation in the formation of public opinion is the decisive term for a definition as an assembly. Simply sitting together in the park and letting the sun shine on your fur is not considered an assembly in the sense of the law, so the issue of fines does not apply either.

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