decision dated November 23, 2022 (Case No.: 1 BvL 3/21), the Federal Constitutional Court declared the reduced standard benefit level 2b for single refugees and single parents in collective accommodations pursuant to Section 2 Paragraph 1 Sentence 4 No. 1 of the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act (AsylbLG) unconstitutional.
On August 21, 2019, the so-called "Orderly Return Act" came into force, followed by the Third Act Amending the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act on September 1, 2019. Both laws contain significant benefit cuts, particularly for single individuals and single parents in collective accommodations. Since then, they receive the same amount as married couples, which is only about 90% of the full benefits.
This regulation was declared unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court in no uncertain terms. In a press release issued today, the Court stated: “It is not apparent that savings are regularly achieved, or even can be achieved, through shared resources in communal accommodations that would justify a 10% reduction in benefits. While the legislature can, in principle, consider potential savings that are not utilized by those in need but are actually available and reasonable, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity of state benefits, there is a lack of sufficiently compelling evidence to support the assumption that the necessary conditions for such savings are actually met in communal accommodations.”
https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2022/bvg22-096.html
“ The Federal Constitutional Court’s decision affects a large number of people, including those within the jurisdiction of the Hildesheim and Kassel social courts, and resolves several pending legal cases there ,” explains attorney Sven Adam regarding the significance of the decision for the regions of southern Lower Saxony and northern Hesse. “ The legislature has once again implemented a further unconstitutional reduction in subsistence benefits within an already racially motivated law. It has always been, and is now more than ever, necessary to demand the complete abolition of the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act (AsylbLG) and finally respect the constitutionally guaranteed dignity of refugees by granting them full subsistence benefits ,” Adam continues.
For further questions, please contact attorney Sven Adam using the contact details provided.
