Basic welfare sanctions · 1 BvL 7/16
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany · 5 November 2019
An unemployed man challenged reductions in the allowance he depended on for basic needs. The Social Court in Gotha questioned whether the sanctions imposed under the legislation then in force respected the guarantee of a minimum standard of living consistent with human dignity.
What the judges changed
The court accepted that lawmakers could require cooperation in finding work. It found constitutional defects in repeated reductions exceeding 30 per cent of the basic rate, mandatory sanctions despite exceptional hardship and a rigid three-month duration even when a person cooperated again. It put interim safeguards in place pending legislation. The ruling left room for proportionate conditions on support.
Reading a present-day decision
This was a review of an earlier version of Germany’s welfare legislation. A current notice needs to be checked against the law in force for the period it covers. Set the original award beside the reduction notice. Mark the dates, the reason the authority gave, any evidence of hardship and any later offer to cooperate. Those records help distinguish a dispute about the facts from one about the severity or duration of the sanction.
Read the constitutional judgment in English
More decisions from Germany · Explore the European Case Law Journal · Individual consultation times and fees
