Berlin Court Rules Görlitzer Park Must Reopen at Night, Dealing Blow to Senate's Anti-Crime Policy

A sudden victory for park advocates

Dozens of people gathered in Berlin's Görlitzer Park on Monday evening to celebrate a court ruling that the park must remain open at night for the time being. The Berlin Administrative Court decided in an expedited procedure that the Senate's general decree establishing fixed closing times was formally unlawful. The Senate's environmental administration had already announced that the park would not be locked on Monday night, and the celebration featured music and drinks.

We won at the administrative court. Party tonight in the Görli, 8 p.m. in the hollow!

The ruling is not final. A definitive decision will follow later in the main proceedings. The Senate administration can still appeal the interim decision to the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg.

The legal reasoning

At the heart of the court's decision is a question of jurisdiction. The judges found that the Senate was not the competent authority to issue the closure order. Instead, the district office of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg holds that responsibility. The court noted that a change in the legal situation was only created in July 2024, which was too late to retroactively validate the Senate's action.

However, the court also indicated that the Senate could make a new attempt using a legal intervention procedure to override the district. This would require an attempt at mutual understanding and, if necessary, an appeal to a newly created arbitration board. The court suggested the Senate could rely on "the public discussion and media coverage reaching far beyond Berlin's city limits about the crime problem in and around Görlitzer Park."

The controversial fence

After years of debate, the park was completely fenced off and has been closed every evening at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. since the beginning of March. The Senate and police aimed to curb drug trafficking and associated violent crime. The newly built fence sections and entrance gates with turnstiles cost nearly 1.8 million euros, according to the Senate. Sixteen entrance gates were erected.

The district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg had spoken out against the closure. There were also fierce protests from the left-wing scene, with fence elements repeatedly stolen. On May 1, the "Revolutionary May 1" demonstration marched along the park to protest the nighttime closure.

The plaintiffs' arguments

The five residents and members of the "Görli zaunfrei" alliance who filed the lawsuit in mid-March presented four main arguments through their lawyer, David Werdermann. First, the Senate is not responsible for the district's green space. Second, there are no concrete figures for the police's definition of the park as a so-called crime-burdened location. Third, the nighttime closure affects not only criminals but all residents. Fourth, the measure is ineffective because crime will simply shift elsewhere.

According to residents' accounts cited in the lawsuit, this displacement has already been observed since the closure began. Homeless people are sleeping in neighboring apartment buildings, and drug addicts are using stairwells.

What happens next

The Senate administration for transport and environment stated it would examine whether to file an appeal. A scientific study on the effects of the closure is planned for after the summer. The main proceedings at the administrative court, which will deliver a final ruling on the legality of the closure, are still pending. The district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is also taking legal action against the Senate's intervention, though it was unsuccessful in its own expedited procedure in 2024.