With the police to the vaccination doctor? How compulsory vaccination could be enforced
The higher the number of infections increases, the louder the calls for mandatory vaccination in Germany.
But is that even legally possible? Yes, says the constitutional lawyer Pestalozza.
Those who do not want to be vaccinated could even be brought before the police.
Sven Christian Schulz
Sven Christian Schulz
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11/16/2021, 12:00 a.m.
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The impact of the fourth wave spurred the debate about a possible vaccination requirement in Germany. Union faction vice Katja Leikert (CDU) warned against waiting with the introduction of mandatory vaccinations. "It will be very expensive for the majority of those who have been vaccinated, for the health system, the economy and, above all, for our children," said the politician.
Even Green Party leader Katrin Goering-Eckardt said: "We will need a vaccination for cases nursing homes, at daycare centers et cetera. We will get this off the ground. ”However, nothing has been decided here yet. The SPD, Greens and FDP still want to discuss this in their coalition negotiations.
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Vaccination is mandatory in certain cases
In an interview with the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND), the Education and Science Union (GEW) again rejected compulsory vaccinations for certain professional groups. “The only way out of the pandemic is through a high vaccination quota for the entire population,” said chairwoman Maike Finnern. There is currently no general compulsory vaccination for the general population in Germany, except for measles vaccination for certain age groups.
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But from a purely legal point of view, compulsory vaccination is even mandatory in certain cases, says constitutional lawyer Christian Pestalozza. "If the small relief measures to combat the pandemic are not enough, politicians are even constitutionally obliged to take stricter measures such as mandatory vaccination," he told the RND, referring to the fundamental right to health.
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If, in the first step, compulsory vaccination for certain occupational groups does not have the desired effect, it can be extended to the general population. This would affect around 15 million unvaccinated people in Germany.
Sanctions against those who do not want to vaccinate: Forced presentation by the police
However, it has not yet been determined when politicians can resort to mandatory vaccination as a last resort. Pestalozza therefore calls for legally established criteria on a medical basis so that all citizens can understand when a mandatory vaccination will be introduced. “The population must know what is coming and when.” Such a law could well end up before the Federal Constitutional Court. “But politicians must not sit back and relax in front of the Constitutional Court out of concern,” Pestalozza warns.
The lawyer Jochen Rozek from the University of Leipzig explains that a mandatory vaccination can be ordered by the Ministry of Health or the state governments. The example of measles vaccination shows that a violation could be punished with a fine of up to 2500 euros, he told the “ Leipziger Volkszeitung ” (LVZ). In the case of repeated violations, even up to 25,000 euros.
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According to Hajo Zeeb from the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology, 2G rules are no longer sufficient against the fourth wave. Much more vaccinations are needed. “From an epidemiological point of view, compulsory vaccination would be the right way,” he told the RND. But it is difficult to sanction those who refuse to do so, and a general vaccination requirement is therefore problematic. It is easier to have a job-related vaccination requirement, in which an employer uses unvaccinated people in other places.
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Jurist Pestalozza believes that sanctions are possible, such as fines and, in the case of repeated violations, high penalties. As a last step, foreclosure must also be considered. “That means that someone is brought before the vaccinator by the police,” says Pestalozza. In a democracy, however, it shouldn't come to that. Rozek from the University of Leipzig also considers a forced screening to be “disproportionate”.
Je höher die Infektionszahlen steigen, umso lauter werden die Rufe nach einer Impfpflicht in Deutschland. Doch ist das juristisch überhaupt möglich? Ja, meint der Verfassungsrechtler Pestalozza. Impfunwillige könnten sogar von der Polizei vorgeführt werden.
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