BRUSSELS

Belgium’s Council of State on Friday ordered the immediate suspension of a government decision denying reception to certain asylum seekers, marking the second judicial rebuke for Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt.

The ruling concerns applicants for international protection who have already been granted asylum in another European Union country.

In its decision issued under “emergency suspension,” the Council of State said the policy risks leaving affected individuals in a state of “complete destitution,” potentially forcing them to sleep on the streets, daily La Libre reported.

The judgment follows a late-February ruling by Belgium’s Constitutional Court, which had already suspended the legal provision underpinning the refusal of reception for this category of asylum seekers.

Despite that earlier ruling, Van Bossuyt announced in early March that the government would continue the policy using an alternative legal basis. The Council of State has now blocked that move, effectively halting the implementation of the revised approach.

The court also cited procedural concerns, saying the minister should have sought advice from the Council of State’s legislative section before issuing instructions to Fedasil, the federal agency responsible for asylum seeker reception.