The Higher Administrative Court (OVG) of Schleswig-Holstein has categorised a claim for information under press law as an administrative act, thus going against the prevailing opinion to date. It therefore rejected as inadmissible the urgent application filed by Axel Springer Verlag requesting information on criminal proceedings from the state of Schleswig-Holstein (case reference: 6 MB 28/25 of 17 October 2025). According to the court, the application should have been directed against the public prosecutor's office, as only this authority is responsible for the judicial enforcement of a claim for information. Since, in the opinion of the OVG, the rejection of a press enquiry by a public authority constitutes an administrative act, the applicant must first file an objection procedure and, if necessary, an action to compel compliance. Previously, the prevailing opinion and common practice was that applicants could bring an action for performance without an objection procedure if they wanted to defend themselves against the rejection of their right to information.

„It remains to be seen whether this case law will prevail. Should this be the case, a lot would change in such proceedings - also for the authorities,“ says Rechtsanwalt Dr Dominik Lück.