FIAN Germany’s Policy Brief on the Asylum Seeker’s Benefits Act
In 2009, roughly 122,000 people received benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, including asylum seekers, war refugees, victims of human trafficking, foreigners who have been granted a suspension of deportation (so-called tolerated foreigners) or those who are obliged to leave the country as well as spouses, partners and underage children. On 18 July 2012, the German Federal Constitutional Court declared the amount of cash payments specified under Article 3 of the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act as evidently insufficient and thus unconstitutional. The ruling specifies that the fundamental right to guarantee a dignified minimum existence applies equally to German and foreign nationals living in the Federal Republic of Germany. It obliges the legislator to immediately introduce a revision of the Act, ensuring a dignified minimum existence.
In 2009, roughly 122,000 people received benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, including asylum seekers, war refugees, victims of human trafficking, foreigners who have been granted a suspension of deportation (so-called tolerated foreigners) or those who are obliged to leave the country as well as spouses, partners and underage children. On 18 July 2012, the German Federal Constitutional Court declared the amount of cash payments specified under Article 3 of the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act as evidently insufficient and thus unconstitutional. The ruling specifies that the fundamental right to guarantee a dignified minimum existence applies equally to German and foreign nationals living in the Federal Republic of Germany. It obliges the legislator to immediately introduce a revision of the Act, ensuring a dignified minimum existence.