On 6 September 2023, the Order of the French-speaking and German-speaking Bar Associations and non-profit associations requested the urgent suspension of the execution of the decision adopted on 29 August 2023 by the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, which was not published and which excluded single men from reception measures provided for by the Law of 12 January 2007 on the reception of asylum seekers and certain other categories of third country nationals.

The Council of State held that the action was inadmissible with regard to the Order of the French-speaking and German-speaking Bar Associations, which did not have an interest in bringing such an action.

The Council of State then noted that the contested act is a regulatory unilateral legal act amending the legal order in a general and abstract manner since it prevents a category of asylum seekers, namely single men, from benefiting from the reception provided for by the Law of 12 January 2007 on reception. The Council noted that the contested act does have the scope described in the application and that it was not established that single men who have applied for asylum were welcomed elsewhere outside the FEDASIL network, by for instance the partner Brussels Regional Public Service, with which FEDASIL has concluded an agreement. The Council highlighted that the act exposes single men to homelessness. Thus, the Council of State suspended the decision of the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, holding that the decision does not respect the right to reception conferred on all asylum applicants by the law of 12 January 2007 on the reception of asylum applicants.