Temporary facilities in genetic engineering?

Temporary facilities do not exist in environmental law or building law per se. The background to this is Article 14 of the Basic Law (GG), which protects property rights. Anyone who invests money in the construction of a facility or building generally assumes that they can operate the facility or building long-term or – as with wind turbines – at least within a long-term timeframe (of 20 years). Against this background, it is questionable whether the GenTG can contain regulations on temporary genetic engineering facilities, since the financial aspect described above naturally also applies to genetic engineering facilities. The provisions of Section 8 GenTG, which governs the construction of genetic engineering facilities, contain no provisions on this. Section 12 GenTG, which regulates notification and registration procedures, also contains no provisions on this. Only Section 12 Paragraph 6 GenTG, which states that the competent authority can impose a time limit on the notified or registered genetic engineering work, could be considered an indication of this. However, it is also stated there that a time limit can only be imposed if this is necessary to ensure the purposes specified in Section 1 No. 1 GenTG. This in turn means that the time limit can only be imposed to protect people and the environment, insofar as this is necessary for this purpose. If and as soon as the protection of people and the environment is ensured, a time limit can no longer be imposed. This does not justify a general admissibility of "temporary genetic engineering facilities". The reference to Section 19 Sentence 3 GenTG, which also permits subsequent ancillary provisions or requirements, cannot be used for this purpose either, since Section 12 Paragraph 6 GenTG does not generally permit a temporary genetic engineering facility. Furthermore, the provision in Section 27 GenTG speaks against the possibility of "temporary genetic engineering facilities", since it stipulates that for genetic engineering facilities of safety level 2 and higher, the approval expires if the facility has not been operated for a period of more than three years. This, in turn, means that the license is completely revoked, and the facility loses its status as a genetic engineering facility. Accordingly, the licensed facility must be re-operated before it can once again be referred to as a genetic engineering facility. Therefore, even a facility whose license expires due to the passage of time cannot be described as a "temporary genetic engineering facility," since the operator has the power to keep the facility in operation permanently by storing GMOs.