Research Centre Immigration & Asylum Law

A German specificity are judgments of the German constitutional court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) interpreting the constitution’s human dignity clause, read in conjunction with the provision on the welfare state, as an individual human right to receive social benefits at a level to be determined by the legislature in accordance with detailed constitutional prescriptions. Several judgments have obliged the German parliament to increase the level of social assistance for asylum applicants and…

A peculiarity of the German public discourse are debates about Obergrenzen (upper limits) for asylum applicants. Such debates are often brushed aside as being unfeasible from a legal perspective. That is correct if we understand upper limits as an absolute maximum above which any additional application will be automatically rejected. Recurring debates about Obergrenzen indicate, however, that they serve, in the public discourse, as a symbol for the more general question whether states should…

Social benefits are an evergreen in asylum policy debates. While labour migration is essential for maintaining social services in ageing European societies, asylum applicants are mostly welfare recipients. Nevertheless, studies show that social benefits play hardly any role when deciding whether to leave the country of origin. They can influence, however, the choice of destination within Europe – as one factor amongst others: where do family, friends and ethnic kin reside? Where will I find a…