On top of soaring healthcare costs, rising crime, and overburdened schools, the German court system can add itself to the list of institutions feeling pressure due to soaring migration numbers. Rejected asylum seekers are once again suing to stay in Germany in growing numbers, with the administrative courts seeing 100,494 new cases in 2024.
The rules in Germany allow asylum seekers to sue if their asylum case is rejected, with the state of Brandenburg seeing the sharpest increase, with 6,138 cases, a 134 percent increase.
In 2023, there were 72,000 such cases, while in 2022, there were 62,000, according to a survey conducted by the German Judges’ Journal. That means there has been a 62 percent increase since 2022, according to Welt newspaper.
In 2017 and 2018, the number of such lawsuits was much higher but then fell from that time.
The courts are once again struggling to deal with the influx as the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) is now processing asylum claims more quickly.
The highest number of cases were seen in North Rhine-Westphalia at 19,267 cases, while Bavaria (15,278) and Baden-Württemberg (12,755) were in second and third place.
Wait times are also up for decisions and well beyond the target of six months set by the Conference of Minister Presidents.
Sven Rebehn, Federal Director of the German Judges’ Association, which also publishes the German Judges’ Journal, said “The administrative courts are gradually getting ahead of the wave, and their processing times are declining significantly. However, if the current dynamic increase in the number of complaints continues, the trend could stall again.”
He called for the hiring of more judges.
