German Federal Constitutional Court decision holding certain provisions of the sanctions scheme of “unemployment benefits II” to be in violation of the guarantee of human dignity where they reduced the benefit amount in question by more than 30%.
The impugned provisions are being left in place temporarily, while the legislature drafts new provisions. However, the Court has ordered that special measures be implemented to secure the rights of persons affected in the interim, pending the Bundestag’s revision of the relevant law.
The decision is highly significant, as it makes it clear that certain types of benefit sanctions can infringe the Basic law’s guarantee of human dignity.
For their contributions to the summary, special thanks to ESCR-Net member: the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University.
