German administrative courts are experiencing a significant surge in asylum litigation, according to an analysis by the German Judicial Review (Deutsche Richterzeitung) based on data from the relevant state ministries.
Data released by the German Association of Judges (DRB) indicate that by the end of June 2025, courts had already registered 76,646 new main proceedings. This figure surpasses the total caseload for 2023 (71,885) and already accounts for 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 11,412 in Bavaria and 11,000 in Lower Saxony – exceeding the total for the entire year of 2024. Lower Saxony saw the largest increase among the federal states, outpacing Baden-Württemberg.
The increased litigation is also impacting the duration of proceedings. “The declining number of asylum applications in Germany has not yet translated into faster judicial processes” stated DRB Federal Managing Director Sven Rebehn. “On the contrary, the number of asylum lawsuits has risen sharply in the first half of 2025, as the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees is now processing asylum procedures more quickly”. This has resulted in courts grappling with a growing backlog, prolonging the duration of many cases.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, the average asylum procedure took 3.9 months in 2023. This figure rose to 5.4 months in 2024 and has further increased to six months in the first half of this year. Other states experiencing protracted timelines 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 lawsuits taking between ten and 19 months. Hesse currently has the longest durations.
While some states have managed to reduce durations by clearing older cases – Brandenburg, for example, has decreased proceedings from 33.4 months in 2023 to 16.7 months this year – the escalating number of new lawsuits is hindering positive trends. “The growing number of new lawsuits is slowing down the trend toward faster court proceedings” Rebehn commented.
The State Governors’ Conference set a goal in 2023 to adjudicate asylum lawsuits within six months. Rhineland-Palatinate remains the only state currently meeting this target, according to the judicial association’s director. While many states have consolidated proceedings in specialized asylum chambers and hired additional staff, “it is apparent that these efforts have not yet been sufficient to manage the influx”.
