Germany German Greens sue against classification as safe countries of origin
In Germany, the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag wants the Federal Constitutional Court to review the legality of the government's planned classification of countries as safe countries of origin by decree.
27.01.2026, 16:50
SDA
Such important decisions should not simply be made by the Ministry of the Interior bypassing the Bundestag - the German parliament in Berlin - according to the main argument of the action.
The parliamentary secretary of the parliamentary group, Irene Mihalic, told "Der Spiegel", which first reported on the lawsuit before the court in Karlsruhe, that they would not accept this "unconstitutional self-defeating of the Bundestag". A court spokesperson confirmed to the German Press Agency (dpa) that a corresponding complaint had been received.
Government decides on safe countries
In September, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's cabinet passed a reform aimed at speeding up asylum decisions for people from certain countries and facilitating the deportation of rejected asylum seekers - by classifying additional countries as so-called safe countries of origin by decree of the Ministry of the Interior. The Ministry is of the legal opinion that in future, if countries are classified as safe countries of origin, neither the Bundestag nor the chamber of the federal states, the Bundesrat, will have to give their consent.
In the view of Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, the prerequisite for this is that the regulation should not extend to the right to asylum for politically persecuted persons, which is enshrined in the German Basic Law. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) only grants this to very few people seeking protection anyway. Most asylum seekers who are granted protection status in Germany are granted refugee protection or so-called subsidiary protection for people who are at risk of serious harm in their country of origin.
New regulation comes into force in February
The classification of safe countries of origin is not an administrative act, but an encroachment on individual protection rights, criticized Green MP Filiz Polat at the time. "Anyone who acts in this way is shaking the foundations of our rule of law."
The Bundestag passed the new regulation in December. It is due to come into force on February 1. In the coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD, it was agreed that Algeria, India, Morocco and Tunisia would first be reclassified as safe countries of origin.
Greens see right of the Bundestag violated
If a dispute arises between the supreme federal bodies, the Federal Constitutional Court can be called upon in a so-called dispute between organs. The applicant must argue that their constitutional rights and duties have been violated or jeopardized by the constitutional body to which they belong.
According to Der Spiegel, the Green parliamentary group believes that the right of the Bundestag is violated in the asylum article of the Basic Law. According to this article, states can be designated "by law, subject to the approval of the Bundesrat" if, for example, the legal situation or political circumstances "appear to guarantee that neither political persecution nor inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment will take place there".
According to the Greens, this means that only the Bundestag and the Bundesrat may decide on safe countries of origin as part of a formal legislative procedure - and not the government alone by statutory order.
