A federal court in Germany has struck down rules allowing shops in Berlin to open all four Sundays before Christmas. It declared formerly approved Sunday shopping regulations as unconstitutional and thus handed the appealing churches a partial victory.
Stores in Germany are allowed to open only 4 Sundays per year- the local state or Lander determine which dates they wish to allocate.
In 2006 the city state of Berlin – which is a Lander or state in its own right – which has the most to gain/or lose had obtained the right to allow its stores to remain open for 10 Sundays of the year. This included the last 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas – the most festive and religious and also the most lucrative time for small businesses – the years most shopping intensive period.
German churches protested against the ruling claiming that historically Sundays and holidays are supposed to be ‘days of rest and spiritual elevation.
On Tuesday, a federal constitutional court upheld that position partially and banned the opening of stores for four Sundays in a row. However the court did allow for store openings on several consecutive Sundays
