For seven years, a man in the southeastern German state of Bavaria has been fighting to get the word "aloha" tattooed on his forearm, in memory of his beloved honeymoon vacation to Hawaii. There's just one snag. He's a policeman, and police officers are barred from getting tattoos in Bavaria.

On Thursday, the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig heard his case, following an appeal against a decision made by a lower court in Munich that sided with the officer's employers, and ruled that police officers can be prohibited from having tattoos on their face, throat, hand or lower arms.

The Interior Ministry of Bavaria is also allowed to dictate certain other aspects of officers' outward appearance, including hair length, style, and amount of facial hair. 

Read more: German minister pushes for stricter rules in the tattoo industry

Christian Jäckle, the lawyer for the 43-year-old officer, had argued that the rules in Bavaria violate his client's freedom of expression. Moreover, he insisted, tattoos are no longer considered subversive or controversial but are widely accepted in mainstream society.

The rules about whether police may have tattoos vary from state to state in Germany. In Berlin, for example, they are allowed but restricted to a certain size. In Rhineland-Palatinate, they are permitted as long as they can be covered by an officer's uniform.

es/sms (AFP, dpa)

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