Cosmetic treatments on the premises of a pharmacy are not permitted. This was decided by the Administrative Court of Minden in a ruling today.
The plaintiff, a pharmacist from Bielefeld, runs a branch pharmacy in Gütersloh, on the upper floor of which she offers cosmetic treatments such as peeling, relaxation massage, brow correction and manicure. The room is reached via an external staircase and through a corridor from which the pharmacy's supply rooms and laboratory are also accessible.
In the opinion of the competent 7th chamber of the administrative court, the cosmetic treatments offered by the plaintiff in this form violate the regulations of the Pharmacy Business Regulations. The cosmetic treatments offered by the plaintiff neither constituted a service that went hand in hand with the operation of the pharmacy nor was it a so-called ancillary business permitted within the premises of the pharmacy. It had to be taken into account that the pharmacist's activity always had to be measured against his mandate to ensure a proper supply of medicinal products to the population. This priority of the mandate to supply medicines prohibited a business structure which - as in the present case - gave rise to the fear that the pharmacy would develop into a cosmetics studio. According to its website, the plaintiff advertised its "cosmetic area" in the sense of a complete cosmetic studio with extensive and varied service packages, which in individual cases were even said to take up a period of approximately 150 minutes.
The question of whether cosmetic treatments are permissible in rooms separated from the business premises of a pharmacy was not the subject of the proceedings.
An application for leave to appeal against the judgement may be filed within one month, and the Higher Administrative Court for the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia shall decide on the appeal.
Judgement of the Minden Administrative Court of 26 January 2011 - 7 K 1647/10 (not legally binding - as of 04.02.2011)
Source: Press release of the VG Minden
Goldberg Attorneys at Law
Attorney at Law Michael Ullrich, LL.M. (Information Law)
Specialist lawyer for information technology law (IT law)
E-mail: info@goldberg.de
