The German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) has announced here that it will publish its decision on the constitutional complaint against the Unified Patent Court (UPC) legislation (case reference 2 BvR 739/17) this Friday, 20 March 2020 at 9.30 am (i.e. 8.30 am GMT).

As the BVerfG’s press release states, the decision is being made by the Senate (sitting with all its eight Justices), whereas most decisions are taken in the Chambers (consisting of three of the Justices) but if those three Justices do not agree unanimously, the Senate decides the matter. Additionally, only the Senate can declare a formally enacted statute void or incompatible with the Constitution. We await to see what the significance might be that the decision will be issued by the Senate rather than Chambers.