A German court has rejected an appeal from a car manufacturer in a diesel emissions case. The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe announced the decision on Tuesday.
The court found that the appellant had not sufficiently demonstrated a direct and current interest in the challenged judgment, which also applied to the potential violation of fundamental rights or rights equivalent to fundamental rights, particularly in the context of the establishment and composition of the auxiliary senate at the Federal Court of Justice.
The original judgment had been issued by the Federal Court of Justice, which for the first time decided that a delictual liability of the vehicle manufacturers for the breach of EU vehicle type-approval regulations could be considered for the replacement of the difference in damages. The court referred the case back to the appeals court for re-examination and decision and the appeals court followed the Federal Court of Justice’s legal interpretation, ultimately dismissing the claim due to the prior consideration of the balancing of advantages (Decision of April 29, 2025, 2 BvR 1440/23).