Kernrechtsfrage
Whether municipalities may appeal departmental decisions to the administrative court under § 12 Abs. 1 Satz 2 VRG.
Extrahierter Entscheid
Yes. § 12 Abs. 1 Satz 2 VRG governs municipal standing for administrative-court appeals and requires that the municipality be directly affected or directly interested in the matter; the provision is tied to municipal self-government.
Extrahierte Begründung
The court held that the special rule on authorities' appeals protects the interests of the represented public body, not the internal interests of subordinate authorities. The decisive criterion is a sufficiently close link to municipal autonomy, especially in matters of local building and planning law.