A DRASTIC tightening of Germany's liberal asylum laws in 1993 to stem an influx of economic refugees does not conflict with the constitution, Germany's highest court ruled yesterday.
The controversial changes to the asylum law were introduced to stem an influx of refugees running at 438,000 a year who were arriving in Germany to take advantage of the most liberal asylum practice in western Europe.
Chief Justice Jutta Limbach made three separate rulings dismissing complaints against changes to the constitution and their practical implementation.
Although only a tiny fraction of asylum applications had been accepted under the old laws, the refugees had to be housed and fed for years while appeals went through the courts. Many went underground to avoid deportation.
Last year just 128,000 refugees applied for asylum in Germany a figure the government says is still too high.
The new laws mean refugees coming from places on a list of so called "safe countries of origin", or via stopovers in countries considered safe, are denied the right to apply for asylum. A fast track procedure has been set up for refugees arriving by air.
But in a summary of its 300 page ruling, the court issued instructions on ways to ensure that asylum seekers received a fair hearing. It said the government must ensure that asylum seekers arriving by air, who are detained in a transit area while their initial application is reviewed, must be allowed to receive competent advice, even if they had no legal representation.
It said they must be given seven days, rather than just three at present, to submit and explain their request to be allowed to enter the country.
But the court limited the opportunity for applicants rejected at the airport to appeal to the constitutional court an avenue which several asylum seekers have taken.
The court upheld the government's right to circumscribe the asylum procedure by listing countries which it deemed free of political persecution or which respected international conventions on human rights and due process of law.
But the five judge panel said courts must still take into account applicants' individual circumstances in ruling on their asylum requests.