Rise in the count of disputes taken up by social judiciary systems
Increase in Social Court Cases in Baden-Württemberg
In 2024, a significant rise was observed in the number of cases handled by the social courts of Baden-Württemberg. The total number of new cases reached 23,805, an increase from the 22,587 cases in the previous year.
This surge in cases was particularly noticeable in the areas of Citizen's Allowance and Unemployment Benefit II (Bürgergeld, formerly Arbeitslosengeld II). The increase can be attributed to changes in benefit policies, the reintroduction of sanctions, and budget consolidations affecting claimants.
The Human Rights Watch and the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have criticized the insufficient benefit levels and punitive job-seeking conditionality under the "Hartz IV" system, which was partially replaced by the Bürgergeld. Despite some loosening of sanctions, job-seeking obligations remain unclearly defined and enforcement continues to create hardship and legal disputes.
Legal firms operating supra-regionally, including in Baden-Württemberg and Stuttgart, report numerous ongoing social law cases involving these basic job seeker securities, reflecting this wave of disputes.
Interestingly, the social courts in Baden-Württemberg are not responsible for handling cases related to Citizen's Allowance. However, they do handle disputes in matters of statutory pension insurance, statutory health insurance, statutory accident insurance, unemployment insurance, the law on severely disabled persons, social compensation for contract doctors, social assistance, and unemployment benefit II.
In the proceedings for the granting of interim legal protection in the field of citizen's allowance and unemployment benefit II, there was a 12% increase in new cases compared to the previous year. The most new cases were recorded in this area, followed by lawsuit procedures.
Despite the increase in cases, the duration of proceedings in main proceedings in the social courts of Baden-Württemberg decreased slightly from 13.9 months in 2023 to 13.2 months in 2024. This decrease is attributed to lengthy medical investigations, an indispensable part of social jurisdiction.
The Ministry of Justice in Stuttgart made the announcement about the increase in new cases in the social courts of Baden-Württemberg in 2024. However, no recent announcements have been made about changes in the social courts' caseload or procedure duration.
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[1] Source: Human Rights Watch and UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights reports [2] Source: Reports from legal firms operating supra-regionally, including in Baden-Württemberg and Stuttgart.
The surge in social court cases in Baden-Württemberg, particularly those related to Unemployment Benefit II, can be traced back to changes in benefit policies, the reintroduction of sanctions, and budget consolidations affecting claimants. Concurrently,finance businesses have reported numerous ongoing social law cases involving these securities, directly reflecting this wave of disputes.
