Bavaria's deportation detention: Only 9 courts responsible for 73 district courts!

Bavaria's deportation detention: Only 9 courts responsible for 73 district courts!

In Bavaria, there will be far-reaching changes in the judiciary on September 1, 2025: Bavaria's Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich is planning a comprehensive reform of the judicial responsibilities for deportation detention and exit detention. This means that in the future only nine district courts will be responsible for processing these proceedings, while currently 73 district courts are responsible for this. As the South German newspaper reported, the new courts in Hof, Passau, Kempten, Ingolstadt, Rosenheim, Laufen, Weiden, Cham and Erding will consolidate the proceedings. The aim of this measure is to speed up processes and simplify coordination between the judicial authorities, police and immigration authorities.

A look at the numbers shows that there has been a decline in procedures in recent years. In 2022, 5,280 cases were processed in Bavaria and in 2023 there were 4,539 - a trend that appears to be continuing, as only 3,821 procedures were planned for 2024. The Passauer Neue Presse highlights that of the 73 local courts, many only processed a small number of cases. 42 of them had no more than ten proceedings per year, which made specialization more difficult and thus caused additional work for the judges.

The situation in Erding

The Erding District Court stands out: with 285 cases processed in 2023 and 114 in 2024, it is known as a routine court. Despite these experiences, the workload will increase from September as all cases from the neighboring district court districts of Dachau, Ebersberg, Freising, Fürstenfeldbruck, Landshut and Starnberg will be added. The district court's seats are already overloaded, and in addition to deportation proceedings, these judges also handle passenger cases - almost 11,000 cases were recorded here in 2023.

The prison in Erding was converted into a deportation detention facility from February 2018 to summer 2023. There are currently 24 detention places there, although there are no plans to convert them again as there are enough places available in Eichstätt and Hof. The Ministry of Justice also promises to provide additional reinforcements at the court if there is a further need for personnel.

Legal situation and perspectives

The legal basis for detention pending deportation is based on Section 62 of the Residence Act, which regulates the detention of migrants who are required to leave the country. A distinction is made between preparatory detention and preventive detention, whereby the duration of detention pending deportation can be extended to up to six months. In certain cases it can last up to 18 months, such as Lawyer Page explained.

Court reform is seen as necessary to streamline legal processes and make decisions more quickly. Justice Minister Eisenreich emphasizes that these changes are intended to simplify procedures. In recent years, the complexity of the issue and the frequent lack of routine in many district courts have been a significant obstacle to efficient proceedings.

It remains to be seen how the new structures and the planned increase in staff will affect work processes. However, one thing is certain: the developments in the Bavarian justice system will be of great importance in the coming months, not only for the judges and civil servants, but also for those directly affected by these proceedings.