The judgment of the First Senate of 18 July 2012 - 1 BvL 10/10, 1 BvL 2/11

Headnotes
to the judgment of the First Senate of 18 July 2012
– 1 BvL 10/10 –
– 1 BvL 2/11 –

1. The amount of cash benefits paid according to § 3 of the Asylum Seek- ers Benefits Act (Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz) is evidently insuffi- cient because it has not been changed since 1993.
2. Article 1.1 of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz – GG) in conjunction with the principle of the social welfare state in Article 20.1 of the Basic Law ensures a fundamental right to the guarantee of a dignified minimum existence (see Decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court (Entscheidungen des Bundesverfassungsgerichts – BVerfGE 125,175). Article 1.1 of the Basic Law establishes this right as a human right. It encompasses both the physical existence of a human being as well as the possibility to maintain interpersonal relationships and a minimal degree of participation in social, cultural and political life. German and foreign nationals who reside in the Federal Republic of Germany are both entitled to this fundamental right.
3. If the legislature wishes to consider the particular characteristics of specific groups of individuals when determining the dignified mini- mum existence, it may not, in defining the details of existential bene- fits, differentiate across the board in light of the recipients’ residence status. Such differentiation is only possible if their need for existential benefits significantly deviates from that of other persons in need, and if this may be substantiated consistently based on the real and actual need of this group specifically, in a procedure that is transparent in terms of its content.