Are Germany’s Czech border checks legal? Dresden court takes up challenge

A Dresden court began examining Wednesday whether German border checks on routes from Czechia and Poland comply with the law, following challenges brought by two travelers.

One case concerns a German man stopped this May while returning from Czechia through the Breitenau/Krásný Les crossing. The other involves a traveler checked between Germany’s Görlitz and Poland’s Zgorzelec in September 2024.

Both argue that the controls breach the rules of the Schengen area, which normally allows travel across internal borders without routine border checks.

Germany introduced checks at its Czech and Polish borders in October 2023. The Dresden Administrative Court is considering whether the checks challenged by the two men were lawful.

The traveler stopped at the Polish border on Sept. 25, 2024, underwent a 15-minute inspection, which he considered burdensome and unlawful.

The second claimant was checked at Breitenau/Krásný Les on his return from Czechia in May 2026.

Although both cases concern individual encounters with police, they raise broader questions about Germany’s continued use of controls along borders shared with fellow Schengen countries.

Other German courts have already considered similar challenges, with several finding checks unlawful. Those decisions have not changed how the controls operate.

Wednesday’s proceedings likewise do not amount to an announcement that checks are ending. No ruling was reported in the account of the hearing.

Germany’s current government continues to support the policy. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced this summer that the controls would be extended until mid-March 2027.

For people traveling from Czechia, that means the Dresden cases have not removed the possibility of being stopped when entering Germany.

The German government has progressively expanded its border controls over the past decade.

Checks on the Austrian border began in 2015. Germany added its borders with Czechia, Poland and Switzerland in October 2023.

In September 2024, the previous government extended controls to the remaining land borders—with France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Germany and Czechia both belong to Schengen, whose internal borders are normally crossed without border checks. The dispute before the court concerns whether Germany’s use of controls is compatible with that framework.

Supporters argue that the measures help combat unauthorized migration and cross-border crime. They include DPolG, Germany’s second-largest police union.

The court challenge therefore tests the legal basis of a policy that remains in operation, rather than introducing an immediate change for travelers.