Lotteries. The Ambivalent European Asylum Regime and How to Fix It. Credibility and Effectiveness of Asylum Decisions in Europe

Author(s) : Dietrich Thränhardt

Source : dx.doi.org/10.5771/2509-9485-2021-2-326

“European asylum systems are often criticized as ‹lotteries›, with decisions differing enormously between countries, between local and regional authorities, at the courts, and applicants have to wait years for a final decision. Taking up a Dutch concept, Switzerland has developed a structured decision system. They combine speed and quality, with independent legal representation controlling and improving the proceedings. Germany and other countries are reluctant to strengthen the applicants’ positions. Officially, they uphold the European and international asylum principles but at the same time expect asylum officers to limit the number of positive decisions. However, in countries with a strong independent judiciary, many administrative asylum decisions are repealed and asylum is granted by the judiciary. Still, governments uphold the ambiguity at great humanitarian and financial cost, and the public is left with anxiety about a broken asylum system.”

Keywords: asylum, refugees, Switzerland, asylum lottery, judicial review.