Podcast
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03.06.2026
Episode 3 - Citizens' petitions: When the people decide for themselves - and yet the council has the final say
The Giesinger brewery wants to go to the Oktoberfest - by referendum. What sounds like a curiosity is the ideal introduction to a serious topic of municipal law: How does direct democracy really work at municipal level?
Maximilian Dombert and Dominik Lück explain what tools citizens have - from residents' question time to binding referendums. It turns out that there are more pitfalls behind the citizens' petition than expected. Formulating an admissible question, correctly and fully substantiating the facts, estimating the costs - and then, in many federal states, the local council still decides on admissibility. In other words, the very body whose decision could potentially overturn the petition.
Whether this needs to be reformed and how local authorities can deal with citizens' petitions in a way that minimises conflict - the two talk openly and with a view to specific regulations from Brandenburg, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The nucleus of democracy - municipal law with Dombert & Lück
Municipal law in an understandable, practical way and without paragraph-by-paragraph: In this podcast, the lawyers and specialist lawyers for administrative law speak Dr. Dominik Lück and Dr. Maximilian Dombert on the legal issues that cities, municipalities and municipal companies deal with on a daily basis.
As partners in the law firm Dombert Rechtsanwälte, they have been advising local authorities at the interface of law, politics and administration for many years. In their talks, they take you into their everyday professional lives, discuss current developments in municipal law and explain complex topics in such a way that they remain understandable even without a legal background.
This is because many of the major social issues are decided locally: Building and infrastructure projects, healthcare, the environment, schools, housing and municipal companies. It is precisely here - in the cities and municipalities - that the nucleus of democracy lies.
The podcast is aimed at local authorities, municipal companies, politicians and anyone who wants to understand how the law works at municipal level.
A podcast about local law, administration and politics - understandable, practical and with a look behind the scenes of municipal decision-making processes.