The Court determined that it had not met its responsibilities mandated by Article 85 (1) of the Treaty, as stipulated.

The Higher Administrative Court in Bautzen has made a significant decision regarding the Saxon Switzerland National Park. After a long-standing lawsuit filed by the municipality of Lohmen in 2003, the court has ruled on the Saxon Switzerland National Park regulation.

The lawsuit challenged the regulation as a whole and individual points, including seeking to remove the popular tourist attraction Bastei from the National Park. However, the court's ruling in favour of the municipality of Lohmen was limited to specific points within the regulation. The Bastei remains part of the Saxon Switzerland National Park, contrary to the municipality's request.

The court's decision upholds the Saxon Switzerland National Park region, but it has repealed the regulation on air traffic over the National Park region. The National Park will no longer be a Natura 2000 area, a protection status according to EU guidelines aimed at conserving, restoring, and developing significant species and habitats.

The ruling was not in favour of the municipality on all points. The Senate declared the inclusion of individual parcels of land in the protected area invalid due to vague delimitation. The court also criticised the inclusion of the Wismut mining area in the landscape protection area.

The procedure had been at rest since 2020 and was resumed this year. The Senate issued its ruling after an oral hearing last Thursday, but the ruling is not yet final. The Higher Administrative Court did not allow an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court, but a complaint can be filed against this decision.

Several on-site visits were made to Saxon Switzerland in August by a reporter from the Senate to gain an impression of the local situation. The Higher Administrative Court in Bautzen ruled that the corresponding 2003 regulation is essentially sound. The National Park and the landscape protection area meet all the requirements set for the designation of such protected areas in 2003.

The president of the Oberverwaltungsgericht (Higher Administrative Court) in Bautzen who expressed doubts about the necessity of the protected area designation for the Wismut mining area at the last court hearing is not named in the provided search results. The President of the Higher Administrative Court, Susanne Dahlke-Piel, expressed doubts about the need for protection of the former uranium mining area during the oral hearing.

This decision marks a significant turning point for the Saxon Switzerland National Park, with the air traffic regulation being repealed and the park's integrity being upheld. The court's ruling is not the final word, as a complaint can still be filed against the decision.