A group of ten German retailers including Intersport, Engelhorn and Rose Bikes have sued the German federal government in the country’s Constitution Court over its strict anti-Covid lockdown regulations. The current measures prevent the opening of so-called “non-essential” retail stores, including sporting goods retail shops, in areas where more than 100 out of 100,000 residents have been infected for three consecutive days. The plaintiffs charge that the measures run against the three constitutional principles of business freedom, right of property and non-discrimination. Among other things, they note that there is no proof that the risk of infection is particularly high in a retail store, and that there is no reason to keep then grocery stores, bookshops and garden centers open. The complaint has been filed through the law office of Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek in cooperation with a constitutional law expert, Prof. Franz Lindner of the University of Augsburg. A few days earlier, a similar constitutional challenge was launched by the ANWR Group, parent company of Sport 2000 Germany, through one of its directly managed retailers, Schuh Mücke.

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