The Federal Constitutional Court dismissed the AfD faction’s application in an organ‑dispute case concerning the allocation of the Otto‑Wels hall in the Bundestag, announced the Karlsruhe judges on Thursday. The AfD had argued that the Otto‑Wels hall had been awarded to the SPD faction and therefore should be given to the AfD as well.
The court held that the AfD faction has no entitlement to that hall. A party’s constitutional status does not include a right to a particular fraktional meeting room. The AfD’s claim that, as the second‑largest faction, it was entitled to the second‑largest hall was unfounded. The organizational rights protected by the Basic Law do not grant “performance bonuses”; they simply secure a party’s participation in the formation of decisions within state organs.
The Bundestag’s Senior Council has made a defensible decision to assign two other rooms to the AfD faction, a choice that does not violate the principle of equal treatment. Assigning rooms strictly in order of faction size is unnecessary for equal participation. The room allocated to the AfD is suitable for its size, and there is no evidence of an evidently wrongful or arbitrary decision (decree of 27 January 2026 – 2 BvE 14/25).
