Submissions by the Higher Social Court of North Rhine-Westphalia to the German Constitutional Court on the right to a minimum existence; Asylum seekers; Social Benefits; Asylum Seekers; Fundamental Right to a Dignified Minimum Standard of Living.
The Court has not set a deadline for the enactment of new provisions, but rather demanded that the legislature should do so “immediately”. Basic benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act must now be calculated based on general provisions applicable to all persons who receive social benefits (Second and Twelfth Book of the Code of Social Law). The transitional agreement applies retroactively from 1 January 2011 onwards, until the legislature has complied with its obligations.
This order is binding for all public authorities. If public authorities do not abide by this order, individuals whose rights are violated are entitled to seek judicial remedies.
The case is significant for a number of reasons. First, the Court applies the methodological framework developed in its Hartz IV decision and, for the first time, declares that social benefits provided for under the law do not live up to the constitutionally protected standard. Second, the Court explicitly places the right to a dignified minimum existence in the context of international human rights law by pointing to the interpretative weight of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Third, it emphasizes that the right to a dignified minimum standard of living applies to all persons residing in Germany. “Migration-policy considerations of keeping benefits paid to asylum seekers and refugees low to avoid incentives for migration […] may generally not justify any reduction of benefits below the physical and socio-cultural existential minimum. Human dignity may not be relativised by migration-policy considerations.” Finally, the decision stipulates that “adequate benefits have to be ascertained in light of circumstances in Germany, the country in which this existential minimum must be guaranteed. The Basic Law does not permit that needs for a dignified life be assessed at a lower level by referring to the existence levels in the country of origin or in other countries. Nor does the Constitution permit one to differentiate among recipients of basic social benefits in accordance to their residence status; the legislature must always take as its guideline concrete needs to secure a person’s existence.”(Constitutional Court Press Release no. 56/2012 of 18 July 2012).
Amnesty International – Germany
Evangelical Church in Germany
Catholic Church
German Institute for Human Rights
Pro Asyl
UNHCR
Flüchtlingsrat Berlin
See Press Release and Decision below: