Abstract

The report surveys the development of administrative procedural law und jurisprudence between 2014 and 2019, in particular, under the auspices of the overarching mandate to grant effective judicial review. Pursuant to Article 19(4) of the Basic Law, effective judicial review is constitutionally guaranteed, but enfolds its practical effects within the intricate framework of Administrative Court Procedure Code and the inhomogeneous body of substantive administrative law. Additionally, European Union law and its own guarantee of effective remedies (Article 47 EU Charter of Fundamental Rights) bears influence on the administrative procedural law. The European Court of Justice seeks to give shape to partly vague European common standards of judicial review and its institutional settings.

The so-called refugee burdened the administrative courts, as the number of asylum cases greatly increased by hundreds of thousands since 2016. The courts struggled to secure sufficient review of asylum decisions handed down by the federal administration under great strain, which diminished the quality and reliability of the administrative procedure and its fact findings. In the wake of the refugee crisis, the dormant provision enabling the administration to execute instant deportation orders has been tested against the guarantee of effective judicial protection. Another reference area that illustrates a shift within administrative procedural law is the complicatedly fabricated environmental law and its special provisions, which guarantee access to a court and effective review of administrative decisions (or omissions) that can affect the environment.