A Berlin court has ruled that turning back asylum seekers at Germany’s borders is unlawful without going the EU’s Dublin procedure. The decision challenges a new federal migration policy.Rule of LawGermany
A Berlin court has ruled that turning back asylum seekers at Germany’s borders is unlawful without going the EU’s Dublin procedure. The decision challenges a new federal migration policy.
Germany’s new conservative government has advised police to turn back irregular migrants at the borderImage: Andy Buennin
The Berlin Administrative Court on Monday ruled that the rejection of asylum-seekers at border controls is unlawful unless carried out under the EU’s Dublin procedure.
The urgent decision is a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has pledged to crack down on migration.
The ruling came in the case of three Somali nationals who were turned back to Poland on May 9 from Frankfurt an der Oder under a new German regulation.
The court said such rejections bypass the necessary legal steps and violate asylum rights.
Shortly after taking office last month, Merz’s government advised police that they could turn back irregular migrants at the border, even if they applied for asylum.
“Persons who express the wish to seek asylum while at a border check on German territory may not be sent back” before it is known which country is responsible for processing the claim under the EU’s so-called “Dublin” system.
