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Shortage of judges in Schwerin: Asylum procedures now take over 17 months!
A lack of judges at the Schwerin Administrative Court leads to long proceedings, especially in asylum procedures.
Shortage of judges in Schwerin: Asylum procedures now take over 17 months!
In Schwerin there is an alarming shortage of judges at the administrative court. Conditions there are currently extremely tense, as the highest level has been reached with 2,400 open asylum procedures. Of the total of 21 judges, only 9 are involved in the asylum procedures, while there is a need for 29 judges overall. This deficiency has drastic consequences: the average duration of proceedings until a verdict has been reached has increased to over 17 months, which has doubled since 2017. Other areas are also particularly affected, such as building permits or social benefits, where longer processing times are also recorded. This reports NDR.
The situation is not only worrying in Schwerin, but also affects many other federal states in Germany. A nationwide evaluation of asylum court procedures found that the average duration of the procedures is often significantly longer than the set target of three to six months. This was not sufficiently covered by the law to accelerate asylum court procedures, which came into force on January 1, 2023. Even though the procedures in Cologne are currently taking 27.7 months and the burden there is falling slightly, the situation is anything but relaxed. In Hesse, for example, it took an average of 29 months to process asylum applications, while Rhineland-Palatinate, with its centralized processing of asylum procedures in the Trier Administrative Court, sets a positive example that could encourage other federal states to follow suit. The digitization measures there also had a positive impact on efficiency and processing time, like daily news reported.
A comparison of procedure times
If you compare the situation at the Münster Administrative Court, the duration of the main proceedings has fallen to 14.4 months, whereas in previous years it was over 23 months. This shows that targeted measures can actually achieve improvements. In addition, the trend of declining procedure duration since 2021 has also been confirmed there, which gives hope for quick solutions. The digitalization strategy there, which provides for an electronic file and simplified communication with authorities, is also cited as a reason for the shortened processing times. Justice NRW documents these positive developments and highlights the establishment of a specialized chamber for asylum procedures.
While measures to provide relief are being taken in a large number of administrative courts, the pressure in Schwerin remains unbroken. The need for additional judges is more urgent than ever to reduce the ongoing backlog of asylum procedures. It will be exciting to see whether and when the necessary changes in the composition of judges will be implemented here too, because time is of the essence - not only for those affected, but also for legal security in Germany.