Germany: Constitutional Court reaffirms the principle of Sunday rest

t to Klaus Wowereit, Mayor of Berlin, the Karlsruhe Constitutional Court ruled, on December 1, that the Berlin law on stores’ opening hours, which allows stores to open for the four Advent Sundays, is partly illegal. The Court ruled that the Land of Berlin violated the principle of Sunday rest, protected by Basic Law. Church and union representatives were exhilarated by the decree, which nevertheless gives a lot of room for maneuver, which the retail sector intends to make the most of. (Ref. 09