The plaintiffs in the case were an Afghan woman who, before the Taliban takeover, worked as a law lecturer and deputy head of the election commission along with her family. They are awaiting resettlement in Pakistan along with women’s rights activists, LGBTQ+ people and others deemed endangered under Taliban rule.
It’s unclear whether the government will consider the ruling as establishing a precedent for similar cases. The interior ministry and the foreign ministry — who are responsible for the resettlement program — did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“The court’s decision only legally binds the parties involved in the legal dispute, i.e. the applicant and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),” a spokesperson for the court said. “At the same time, according to the court’s decision, the FRG remains bound to … promises of admission, such as those given here.”
More legal decisions are expected as Afghans challenge the government’s suspension of the resettlement program.
In a similar blow to Merz’s promised migration crackdown, a court last month ruled that that the German government’s push to turn away asylum-seekers at the country’s borders is unlawful. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, however, challenged the scope of the court’s decision, suggesting it only applied to the three complainants in the case. The government continues to defend the border checks.