Berlin, 28 March 2022. In two decisions, the Superior Administrative Court has cleared the way for the Land of North Rhine‑Westphalia to have RWE carry out lignite mining in Lützerath in accordance with mining law. Redeker Sellner Dahs served as counsel for the company.
This means that the legal dispute in the injunctive procedure has been permanently and finally decided and cannot be appealed. The court upheld two first‑instance decisions rendered by Aachen Administrative Court, which had already arrived at the same conclusion in October 2021. The transfer of possession of the land in Lützerath to RWE was confirmed in the last instance. This means that the farmer involved and the tenants who live on his land and who have opposed eviction on climate protection grounds must vacate the land and hand it over to RWE.
Dr Tobias Masing, who acted as counsel for RWE Power AG together with his colleague Florian Beck, stated: “We are pleased with the decisions handed down by Aachen Administrative Court and North Rhine‑Westphalia Superior Administrative Court. These decisions are extraordinarily comprehensive and carefully reasoned. Climate protection is a central legal imperative today. It is therefore very important that the courts have confirmed that the government authorities in charge have carefully weighed out all interests. Use of the land in Lützerath for opencast mining has been permitted without any legal mistakes having been committed, also taking climate protection into account, in order to secure the supply of raw materials in the interest of the public weal.”
