Abstract
‘There is the so-called “right of asylum” but it is much more a right on the part of the Government to grant asylum than a right on the part of the alien to have it.’ This is how David Renton explained the position of the British government to the House of Commons in 1961 (15 November 1961, Hansard, col. 431). Until 1993 the situation in the Federal Republic of Germany was different. In West Germany’s de facto constitution of 1949, the Basic Law, Article 16 states that ‘Persons persecuted on political grounds shall enjoy the right of asylum.’ (Politisch Verfolgte genießen Asylrecht). This generous and internationally exceptional provision gave refugees the right to enter West Germany and to have their applications for asylum considered. If they were found to be victims of political persecution, they had the right to stay. If their application was rejected, they had the right to challenge this decision before a board and then the courts. Clearly the politicians who drafted this clause were motivated by the experiences of persecution and exile after 1933. Article 16 also states that no German may be deprived of his or her citizenship — as practised by the Nazi regime with many of its opponents.
Published Version
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