A German Interior Ministry official, Uli Grötsch, is urging the Federal Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt, to provide legal clarity for the border rejections ordered by the minister. Grötsch, the Federal Police Commissioner, expressed his concerns in an interview with the German news magazine “Focus”. He emphasized that the unclear legal situation is a “problematic state” for the federal police officers stationed at the control points, as many of them have recently made this clear to him.
On Monday, the Berlin Administrative Court ruled in an expedited procedure that the border rejections ordered on May 7, 2025, were unlawful in three cases. However, Minister Dobrindt has continued to uphold the measure, which could lead to border police officers being held accountable for their actions in the future.
A lawyer specializing in administrative law, Michael Else, views the court’s decision as legally binding, regardless of the fact that it was an expedited procedure. He explained that the court’s review in this type of procedure is essentially the same as in a regular lawsuit, known as a “preliminary ruling”.
If the border rejections are challenged again in the future, federal police officers could face legal consequences. “There is a latent risk that officers could be held accountable in some way, even if only through private criminal complaints” the lawyer said.
The court’s ruling only applies to the jurisdiction of the Berlin Administrative Court and the situation is different in other parts of the country, such as Passau or Offenburg, which would fall under the jurisdiction of other administrative courts. In practice, the border rejections are currently only unlawful in the jurisdiction of the Berlin court, but it is expected that other courts will make similar decisions.
To avoid being held accountable, federal police officers are now being advised to file a complaint against the order to reject the migrants, a process known as “remonstration”. However, even if an officer files a complaint and the order is not changed, they could still be held criminally accountable. This is a principle that was deliberately enshrined in the law as a lesson from the Nazi era.
By not changing the order, Minister Dobrindt is putting the police in a difficult position, the lawyer said. On the one hand, they must follow the order and reject the migrants, as they could otherwise face disciplinary action. On the other hand, they could be held criminally accountable for doing so. So far, no federal police officer has filed a complaint against the order.