The Bavarian Higher Regional Court in Bamberg overturned on 30 October 2026 the acquittal of a Bundeswehr soldier who had repeatedly refused vaccination against Covid-19 in 2022. The case was referred back to Schweinfurt Regional Court for a new hearing and decision.
The decision followed an appeal on points of law by the Munich Public Prosecutor General’s Office against a regional court ruling that had upheld an earlier acquittal by the district court. The soldier was assigned as a course participant in Hammelburg in early January 2022 and failed to attend several vaccination appointments ordered as part of his service. A senior staff physician had previously determined that there were no medical reasons against vaccination. The prosecution regarded this as refusal to obey orders.
According to judicial sources, the higher court found the lower courts’ reasoning legally and procedurally inadequate. The key questions are what legal standards should be applied to a soldier’s claimed conscientious objection and how it should be weighed against the obligation to tolerate officially ordered protective measures. Another criminal chamber of Schweinfurt Regional Court is now to resolve these questions in a new trial.
The dispute is bound up with the obligation to tolerate Covid-19 vaccination that applied during the coronavirus pandemic in the German Armed Forces , introduced as part of the basic vaccination schedule. This gave rise to legal disputes across Germany from 2022 onwards, including over the scope of service obligations and the protection afforded to freedom of conscience. Administrative and criminal courts have ruled on various scenarios; a definitive ruling by the highest courts on all the detailed questions is still pending.
The immediate consequence of the decision in Bamberg is that the criminal proceedings will continue. Schweinfurt Regional Court must hold a new trial and assess whether, in the specific circumstances of the defendant’s service, his conduct amounted to a criminal refusal to obey orders, or whether there are grounds for justification or excuse. The possible outcomes include both a conviction and a fresh acquittal.
The authorities involved made clear that the case is not about a general assessment of vaccination, but about the binding force of a lawful service order in the armed forces and the extent to which individual conscientious objections can limit it. The Bavarian Higher Regional Court’s decision does not provide a definitive ruling on the substantive law, but it does set the procedural framework for a sound reassessment of the facts and the law by Schweinfurt Regional Court.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).