New Laws and Regulations June 2016

This month brings along with it a couple of changes in the laws and regulations in Germany, including changes to the banking laws, noise control during the UEFA European Championship 2016 and many more.

Consumer Laws

Faster Refund of Cash in case of Bank Failure

What happens if a bank goes bankrupt or is shut down? How do you get your money back?

June 2016, brings along new regulation that will ensure bank clients are assured to get their money back within seven days after the bank is closed or declared bankrupt. This was changed from the previous regulation that gave the bank  twenty one days to refund the cash deposits in its possession. This law is set to apply to the whole EU in 2024.

Bank Accounts for ALL

For years, you couldn’t open an account in Germany without a registered address, meaning asylum seekers, and the homeless couldn’t open an account. In February of this year, the Bundestag approved a bill that allows EVERYONE living in Germany legally to get a basic bank account.

The new law that comes into effect this month, will allow every person older than 18 years of age, living in Germany legally to open a bank account.

Cheering Allowed During UEFA Championships

The football fans are definitely excited by the European championships scheduled for June and July. Well, the regulators have decided to add on to your happiness by relaxing the laws on how much noise you’re allowed to make before the police may be called in, to make you shut up.

Instead of the usual 30 decibels allowed from 10pm (22 Uhr), which is when the “Nachtruhe” begins, during the UEFA Championships, you will be allowed to cheer up to 55 decibels. (How you’re to measure that, sijui)

Health Laws

Yellow Fever Vaccination to no longer be Renewed

Travelling to some countries requires that you get a yellow fever vaccination before you can even get a visa to the place. For some, they wait until you are at the airport trying to check in your luggage before they mention that you need the vaccination. What makes this situation dire, is the fact that the regulation demanded that you renew your vaccination every 10 years, if you forgot to do so, you would have to replan your travel schedule.

However, from June 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reviewed its International Health Regulations (IHR), thus relaxing the demand for the renewal. From this month and in future, you will only be required to prove that you have been vaccinated ONCE in your life.