Both legal and natural persons who are affected by the subject matter of the proceedings in a subjectively public right are parties to the proceedings. The AVG distinguishes between the aforementioned parties and mere participants, who have no legal claims but only a factual interest. This distinction is particularly important with regard to the legal status in the proceedings, as mere participants do not have the same extent of rights—such as the right to participate in the oral hearing and to participate in the determination of the facts.
However, the question of who specifically has party status in the proceedings cannot be determined solely based on the AVG, but depends on the respective administrative regulations (e.g., Trade Act). These may explicitly provide for party status (“parties are…”)—these are referred to as legal parties—or grant subjective public rights that, in connection with the AVG, lead to party status in the administrative proceedings.
For example, neighbors according to Section 75(2) of the Trade Act have such subjective rights to protect certain rights mentioned in Section 74 of the Trade Act – this concerns, for example, noise, odor, or smoke nuisance. Due to these subjective rights, each neighbor is therefore entitled to party status in the context of a permit procedure for an industrial plant.
