German administrative courts are experiencing a significant surge in asylum litigation, according to an analysis by the “Deutsche Richterzeitung”, a publication of the German Judges’ Association (DRB), based on data from state ministries. Reports from the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” newspaper network detail the growing caseload.
By the end of June 2025, courts had already registered 76,646 new main proceedings, surpassing the total for 2023 (71,885) and reaching three-quarters of the level recorded in 2024 (100,494).
The highest number of lawsuits were registered in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Lower Saxony. North Rhine-Westphalia reported 13,304 lawsuits in the first half of the year, followed by Bavaria with 11,412. Lower Saxony recorded 11,000 new cases – exceeding the total for the entirety of 2024, marking the largest increase among the states, ahead of Baden-Württemberg.
This trend is impacting the duration of legal proceedings. DRB Federal Managing Director Sven Rebehn stated, “The decreasing number of asylum applications in Germany has not yet translated into relief for the judiciary. On the contrary, the number of asylum lawsuits has risen significantly in the first half of 2025, as the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) is now processing asylum procedures more quickly”. This has led to the courts having more cases to manage, prolonging the duration of many proceedings.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, an asylum case in 2023 took an average of 3.9 months. This rose to 5.4 months in 2024 and to six months in the first half of this year. Other states experiencing delays include Bavaria (7.1 months), Baden-Württemberg (7.6 months), Saxony-Anhalt (8.4 months) and Saarland (9 months). Eleven other states are seeing asylum litigation taking between ten and 19 months, with Hesse facing the longest average durations.
While some states have managed to reduce average durations by clearing older cases – for example, Brandenburg reduced its duration from 33.4 months in 2023 to 16.7 months this year – the increase in new lawsuits is hindering positive trends. Rebehn emphasized, “The growing number of new lawsuits is stalling the trend toward quicker court proceedings.
The state premiers’ conference set a goal in 2023 to decide asylum lawsuits within six months. Rhineland-Palatinate currently remains the only state meeting this target. Despite efforts by various states to bundle cases in specialized asylum chambers and hire additional staff, “it is evidently not yet sufficient to cope with the wave of litigation”.