Western democracies at risk as ECHR gone too | Political News

“Western democracies” face an existential risk unless Europe implements stricter asylum reforms, Germany’s former chief justice has cautioned.

Hans-Jurgen Papier declared that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has overstepped its bounds, with its asylum choices now “settling like mildew over the states’ political power to take action”.

The constitutional authority warned that “uncontrolled and unconditional immigration” is eroding public confidence in the political system. The news comes as ICC slams ‘flagrant assault’ after US sanctions more judges for Israeli struggle crimes probe.

Mr Papier’s remarks emerge as mainstream opinion on immigration has remodeled, with numerous Brits and Europeans demonstrating in the streets over frustration with their nations’ asylum frameworks.

He contends that asylum verdicts from both home courts and the ECHR are jeopardizing the “existence of western democracies” without speedy reform, stories the Express.

“The prospect that those in positions of political responsibility in Europe could change this system and adapt it to the fundamental changes in our social, political and cultural conditions seems ever more difficult and ever more hopeless to many people,” Mr Papier, previously Germany’s highest-ranking choose, told The Times.

He emphasised that the courts’ method to asylum is “generally destroying the European citizen’s trust in the capacity of their democratic institutions to act, and so at the end of the day endangering the existence of western democracies”. Germany is at present spearheading efforts to strengthen its immigration insurance policies.

Following years of exceptionally high arrivals, asylum functions submitted between January and July 2025 dropped by 50% in contrast to the an identical timeframe last 12 months – totaling 70,000.

While earlier German administrations maintained a more lenient stance on this matter, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s robust method has dramatically diminished asylum seeker figures.

Enhanced border enforcement has also brought on unlawful immigration to decline to 22,170 entries thus far in 2025, markedly decrease than 83,572 during the corresponding period in 2024 and 127,549 in 2023, according to Die Welt.

Brussels has praised the nation’s firmer place, with EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner explaining it now “makes progress faster”.

“We want to make it clear that Germany is no longer in the brakeman’s cab when it comes to migration issues in Europe but is part of the driving force,” the nation’s Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, added.