The German Parliament (Bundestag) on Friday passed a law to speed up asylum procedures.
The law was passed by the votes of deputies of the ruling coalition, which includes the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party, while the Christian Alliance, the Left Party and the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party rejected the bill. Two MPs abstained from voting, Speaker of Parliament Purple Bass said.
Under the new rules, the so-called periodic review by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees will be abolished. Previously, the office would automatically check after a certain period of asylum decisions to see if there were grounds for revoking or withdrawing recognition of the right to asylum or recognition of refugee status.
Under the new rules, the review will only be conducted if there is a reason to do so. The new measure also aims to reduce the burden on the office.
In addition, asylum seekers will have the right to seek advice independent of the authorities. Civil society actors will be entrusted with advising on the asylum procedure, for which they will receive money from the German government.
In the future, in exceptional cases, a hearing in the asylum procedure may be conducted via video and audio broadcast.
It is also planned to reduce the duration of asylum claims proceedings in administrative courts.
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