German judge tells couple when they can smoke after neighbours moan

A JUDGE in Germany has ruled that a couple can only smoke on their own patio according to a strict timetable.

In the latest example of the German habit of seeking legal rulings on the minutiae of daily life, the couple’s neighbours in the city of Dortmund had complained that the smoke was disturbing them. The couple, named only as Dirk and Andrea D under German privacy laws, will only be allowed to smoke during certain hours in their own garden.

Judge Steven Kensy ruled that they and their neighbours would have to divide the day equally between them.

He drew up a strict timetable of alternating three-hour smoking and smoke-free periods. The couple will be allowed to smoke from 6am to 9am, noon to 3pm, 6pm to 9pm, and midnight to 3am. “I have balanced the two sides’ interests and come to the conclusion there must be an equal division,” the judge said.

To add to the smoking couple’s discomfort, he ruled that they could not appeal.

The couple’s neighbour, named only as Robert C under privacy laws, has been fighting the case since 2015. “My wife has to set the alarm clock in the middle of the night so she can open the window to air the room,” he told Bild newspaper. “The two of them are smoking one cigarette after another, and the smoke is coming into our house.”

He wanted the court to forbid his neighbours to smoke in their garden at all, but had to settle for a partial victory.

The smoking couple disputed his claims, saying they smoked no more than 20 cigarettes a day between them.

“The fact is, we only smoke in the summer, and only occasionally,” Andrea D said. “They have barbecues next door and some of their guests also smoke. Soon our neighbours will want to decide what we can cook.”

The couple said they would prefer to move if possible, but that they did not have the money to do so.