Forest owner fights expropriation in constitutional court

The owner of a private piece of forest in eastern Saxony wants to lodge a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court regarding the expropriation of the land for the Nochten open-cast lignite mine. He wants to defend himself against a decision by the Bautzen Higher Administrative Court (OVG). The court did not stop the so-called land transfer to the energy company Leag on January 1, 2026, as confirmed by a spokesperson. The OVG intends to announce the reasons for the decision in the coming week.

Forest to be excavated for open-cast mining

The legal dispute concerns a private forest plot near Rohne, a district of Schleife (Görlitz district). It has been leased to the Cottbus environmental group of the nature conservation association "Grüne Liga" since 2019, which says it organizes cultural and educational activities there.

Leag is planning to excavate it for the expansion of the Nochten open-cast mine. As the owner does not want to sell the land, the energy company has applied for a land transfer. This is a form of expropriation under mining law. The Saxon Mining Authority granted the application. The owner filed an appeal against this with the OVG in Bautzen just over a year ago.

Lawyer: OVG decision incomprehensible

Lawyer Philipp Schulte, who represents the owner, reacted with disappointment to the OVG's current decision. "We consider this decision to be incompatible with the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court on the climate protection requirement," he said in a statement. It is incomprehensible that expropriation should be allowed for projects whose emissions make it impossible to achieve climate protection targets.

From the perspective of the Green League, there is a risk of landslides in the villages of Rohne and Mulkwitz if the forest is cleared, similar to the nearby Cottbus Baltic Sea. "This is another reason why we welcome the fact that the forest owners are not giving up," said René Schuster from the Green League.