The Ministry of Education in the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg had imposed a ban on employing Michael Csaszkoczy in 2002 on the grounds he was "politically unreliable."

The first time Csaszkoczy took the case to court, the judge in Karlsruhe upheld the ban.

But on Wednesday, an administrative court in Mannheim ruled the ministry had unjustly refused to employ Csaszkoczy and ordered education officials to review his application for a teaching position.

Teacher in militant left-wing group

Csaszkoczy is a member of the far-left group called the "Anti-fascist Initiative Heidelberg," which sees "militancy as a legitimate means to the fight for liberation."

The high-school teacher, who has a shaved head and piercings in his ears and under his lower lip, refused to distance himself from this assertion during the trial because, he said, it showed "respect for those who resisted the Third Reich." However, he stressed "he was not concerned with the abolishment of parliamentary democracy."

During the hearing, the presiding judge mentioned that the 36-year-old teacher had been active against right-wing violence in his youth, leading to a recommendation for a civil courage medal by the City of Heidelberg.

"Anti-fascists are not in themselves villainous … but what interests us here is the relationship to parliamentary democracy and to violence," said Judge Klaus Breunig.

State mistrustful

Detlef Brandner, who represented the state of Baden-Württemberg, said there were doubts that Csaszkoczy was committed to the democratic state.

"Of course, we also saw his positive sides, his engagement against the right, and his engagement for youth," he said.

Csaszkoczy, who has been under government surveillance since 1992, has never been found guilty of anti-constitution acts.

After the judgment, Csaszkoczy's lawyer said he thought his client's chances at getting a job were now good: "The ministry has received precise guidelines, so the verdict could lead to employment."

The education ministry said it would wait to receive the written verdict before deciding how to proceed.

Germany's teachers' trade union called on the ministry to offer Csaszkoczy a job, "because that way Baden-Württemberg can draw the curtain on the whole issue of bans."