German court rules turning away asylum seekers unlawful

BERLIN

The Berlin Administrative Court said in an emergency ruling on Monday that the rejection of asylum seekers at border controls on German territory is unlawful.

Asylum seekers may not be turned away without following the so-called Dublin procedure, the court argued.

The present case involved two men and a woman from Somalia who were traveling by train from Poland to Germany. On May 9, they were checked by the Federal Police at Frankfurt (Oder) train station. After applying for asylum, they were returned to Poland the same day.

According to the court, the Federal Police justified the rejection by citing entry from a safe third country.

The concerned individuals appealed against this decision in summary proceedings before the administrative court, while the court said the decisions are final.

According to an unnamed court spokeswoman, this is the first court decision regarding the new regulations introduced by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, who ordered an intensification of border controls just hours after taking office in early May. At the same time, he ruled that asylum seekers could also be rejected at the border.​​​​​​​

As part of the new center right-wing coalition agreement between the Christian Democratic Union and its sister party the Christian Social Union and their junior partner the Social Democratic Party, it was agreed that “in coordination with our European neighbors, we will also reject asylum seekers at our common borders.”

Last year, 229,751 people applied for asylum in Germany for the first time. This was around 100,000 fewer first-time asylum applications compared to the previous year. The main countries of origin currently include Syria and Afghanistan.

Germany has been carrying out temporary checks at all land borders since Sept. 16, 2024 as part of the fight against irregular migration.