German court rules Czech border checks unlawful, but travelers still face stops

A German court has ruled that border checks challenged by two travelers entering from Czechia and Poland were unlawful, delivering another legal setback to Germany’s internal border controls.

The Dresden Administrative Court upheld both complaints Thursday. One concerned a bus passenger stopped at the Breitenau/Krásný Les crossing after traveling from Czechia; the other involved a check on the Polish border.

The ruling can be appealed. It does not mean checks have ended: Germany continues to operate controls, which its government has extended until mid-March 2027.

The court considered whether the inspections were lawful at the time they took place.

One claimant was checked for 15 minutes on Sept. 25, 2024, while crossing between Germany’s Görlitz and Poland’s Zgorzelec. He argued that the inspection was burdensome and breached Schengen rules.

The second claimant, a German national, was returning by bus from Czechia on May 18 this year when police checked him at Breitenau/Krásný Les.

In its statement announcing the decisions, the court said the internal border controls ordered by Germany’s Interior Ministry at the Czech and Polish borders were unlawful in the cases examined.

The judgment follows proceedings that began Wednesday.

Other German courts have reached similar conclusions in previous cases, but those decisions have not changed how border controls operate, according to ČTK.

For travelers, the distinction is important: a successful challenge to an individual check does not itself amount to an announcement that police will stop conducting inspections.

Germany and Czechia both belong to the Schengen area, where routine checks are normally absent at internal borders.

Germany nevertheless introduced controls at its Czech and Polish borders in October 2023, alongside checks on its border with Switzerland.

Those measures followed controls at the Austrian border, which began in 2015. In September 2024, Germany expanded the policy to its remaining land borders with France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark.

The current German government continues to defend the approach. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced this summer that the controls would remain in place until mid-March 2027.

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

Thursday’s ruling therefore strengthens the legal challenges to the policy while leaving the immediate situation for passengers unchanged.

People crossing from Czechia into Germany should still expect the possibility of an inspection. The Dresden court’s decisions concern the legality of the checks brought before it, and remain open to appeal.