15 May 2012
RAUE LLP has successfully defended the Chambers of Industry and Commerce of Kassel and Cologne in lawsuits of some of their members. The landmark decisions are of fundamental importance to the exercise of functions of all German Chambers of Industry and Commerce.

In Kassel, a company questioned the compatibility of the mandatory membership of enterprises in German Chambers of Industry and Commerce with the German Constitution and with the Law of the European Union. The company further challenged the contribution system as well as the financial reserves of the Kassel Chamber of Industry and Commerce. However, the administrative court confirmed the mandatory membership as well as the contribution system and the accrued reserves of the Kassel Chamber of Commerce represented by RAUE LLP.

In a parallel procedure, a company sued against the decision of the Cologne Chamber of Industry and Commerce to publicly support a significant port development project. The administrative court followed the arguments of RAUE LLP and held that the Cologne Chamber of Industry and Commerce fulfilled its legal tasks and that it exercised the necessary objectivity and restraint.