The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has found a structural problem within the Federal Administrative Court concerning the handling of asylum appeals. The finding came from two supervisory complaints filed by asylum seekers whose appeals, submitted in October and November 2021, had still not been decided by the end of 2025.
According to the Federal Administrative Court, 144 asylum-related cases pending at the end of November 2025 had remained unresolved for more than 50 months. The Federal Supreme Court concluded that such a high number of long-pending cases indicates a systemic issue, despite measures already taken by the court to address the backlog.
The Supreme Court identified several causes, including insufficient prioritisation of older cases, an inadequate case-processing strategy and an ineffective allocation of resources for clearing pending cases.
As a result, the Federal Supreme Court has instructed the Federal Administrative Court to submit a detailed strategy, including a timetable and backlog-management plan, explaining how it intends to reduce the number of long-pending asylum cases and improve the handling of older appeals.
- Tribunal Federal | Bundesgericht | Tribunal fédéral | Tribunale federale (17 June, 2026), Surveillance administrative 15 juin 2026 (12T_3/2025, 12T_4/2025) Anciens cas pendants dans le domaine de l'asile – problème structurel au Tribunal administratif fédéral [Administrative Supervision, 15 June 2026 (12T_3/2025, 12T_4/2025) Long-Pending Asylum Cases – Structural Problem at the Federal Administrative Court ],