Germany COVID‑19 legal fallout

German courts have been revisiting decisions made during the COVID‑19 pandemic. In November 2025, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the statutory triage regulation, which dictated how hospitals allocate scarce intensive‑care resources, violated the Basic Law and was therefore nullified. The decision removed the mandated priority criteria and restored doctors’ discretion, prompting expectations of legislative and administrative reforms.

A few months later, in July 2026, the Federal Court of Justice set aside acquittals in a mask‑fraud case involving two men from Oberpfalz who had imported low‑quality protective masks from China and sold them to the Bavarian health authority. The court found procedural errors in the lower‑court verdict, ordering a rehearing by a different district‑court chamber.

Together, these rulings illustrate a broader pattern of German judicial review targeting pandemic‑era policies and procurement practices, signalling ongoing legal scrutiny of COVID‑related measures.