Bad news for retailers... Germany's constitutional court has ruled that shops may not open for four Sundays in a row..... In recent years there have been moves to liberalize shop-opening hours here in Germany, and the capital Berlin allowed shops to open on 10 Sundays per year, including the four Advent Sundays before Christmas. But both the Catholic and Protestant churches appealed that regulation, saying that it violates the German constitution, which guarantees the right to a day of rest on Sunday.