Noisy children - no reason to go to court

The Act on the Privileged Status of Noise caused by Children at Childcare Centres and Play Areas adopted by the German parliament (Bundestag) on 26 May 2011 and approved by the Bundesrat entered into force on 28 July 2011 following its publication in the Federal Law Gazette. The act, which was drafted and agreed between the ministries involved under the main responsibility of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, had been simultaneously introduced to the legislative procedure by the federal government and the parliamentary groups of the governing coalition.

The draft act was welcomed unanimously by the Länder in the Bundesrat. This presents a solid basis for the implementation of the act as the challenge ahead now is to breathe life into the act and to accept noisy children with as much tolerance as should be natural for a child-friendly society.

Within the framework of the revision of German zoning legislation, the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS) is at present working on the accompanying amendment to the Federal Land Utilisation Ordinance (Baunutzungsverordnung) to generally permit childcare centres in purely residential areas. The respective legislative procedure is to be initiated in the second half of the year.