Protest unpunished

Hagen-Canaval wins before the Administrative Court

A few days ago, the Administrative Court put an end to a legal dispute between representatives of the Bregenz district authority and climate activist Marina Hagen-Canaval.

There was turmoil in the Vorarlberg state parliament on December 14, 2022. Several people - including Marina Hagen-Canaval - had unfurled posters in the public gallery and loudly voiced their displeasure at the construction of the tunnel spider. The meeting was interrupted and the hall cleared. 

Marina Hagen-Canaval was subsequently made to bear the legal consequences of her unwelcome appearance in parliament. She was named as the leader of the meeting by the Bregenz district administration. However, no evidence of this was presented at the hearing at the Provincial Administrative Court in December 2023. Hagen-Canaval got off without punishment - apparently to the displeasure of those responsible at the BH.

Parliamentary President Harald Sonderegger and Parliamentary Director Borghild Goldgruber-Reiner tried in vain to keep the courtroom quiet.(Bild: sos)

The case finally went to Vienna. The Administrative Court there also ruled in favor of the climate activists from "Extinction Rebellion". "In the present case, the Administrative Court [...] rightly ruled out any punishment of the co-participants," it said. 

The Supreme Court also clearly rejected the authorities' argument that, in case of doubt, all peaceful protesters should simply be punished: "The view that [...] all participants in an assembly could be prosecuted collectively - as organizers, as it were - has no basis either in the law or in the aforementioned case law of the Administrative Court."

The climate activist from Vorarlberg was accordingly pleased with the decision and announced: "I call on the authorities to finally refrain from their personal vendetta against me. We won't get anywhere if they try so vehemently to unlawfully criminalize people who draw attention to the climate catastrophe."

Both in Vorarlberg and in Vienna, decisions were made in Marina Hagen-Canaval's favor.(Bild: Extinction Rebellion)

Representatives of the authorities should rather work on solutions to the climate catastrophe. The first step would be to cancel the tunnel spider and focus on sustainable mobility, said the 27-year-old, adding smugly that this would also put an immediate end to the protests. 

Lawyer Sanjay Doshi commented on the ruling as follows: "The BH Bregenz tried to criminalize mere participants in an unregistered assembly. The Administrative Court has now clearly rejected this plan. Once again, the highest courts are proving to be important defenders of fundamental rights and the rule of law."