In the framework of the interdisciplinary science initiative „Challenges of Migration, Integration and Exclusion“ of the Max Planck Society the legal department examined the role of law-making in light of the sharp rise in the number of asylum applications since 2012. It analysed the legislative measures taken by Germany from 2014 to 2019 to manage the “refugee crisis” as well as the potential effects on the rights and the well-being of asylum seekers and persons with protection needs at large. The research states a "hyperactivity" of the German legislature with more than 40 amending laws in only five years. It cannot be seen solely as a reaction to the standstill of the negotiations on the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) at EU level and to the rapid increase of asylum applications in the "EU+" in general and in Germany in particular. Other factors, such as the increasing importance ascribed to security threats, but also the desire to partially promote integration, also shape the legislative developments.
Among other things, the project concludes that the complex norm structure of international, European and national law, the decentralised implementation of European regulations by the Member States, and the executive federalism existing in Germany, exacerbate the fragmentation of the law, which is detrimental to both systemic coherence and legal certainty. Ultimately, the hyperactive legislation evokes implementation gaps and a - partly unintended - transfer of discretionary powers to the executive branch, which in turn limits the steering power of the law, hinders its homogeneous application and risks undermining minimum standards in place to protect the rights of migrants.