18 November 2020
LawRules #9: We need to talk about Refugees and Migration Law
We need to talk about refugees and migration law. In discussions about these topics, refugees and migration policy are often being treated as the other of politics and policy. But the way states treat those seeking refuge and asylum on their territory is fundamentally a rule of law issue, and actually says a lot about the current state of the rule of law there: Are refugees able to enter a jurisdiction and apply for their right to asylum? Are due process obligations being observed? Do refugees have access to justice? Does the European migration law system work? Continue reading >>
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02 October 2020
The Global Politics of Refugee Protection and Return
Voluntary, safe and dignified return is one of the durable solutions to forced displacement and, thus, hosting states have the responsibility to provide international protection to refugees until the conditions for voluntary repatriation are met. Premature or forced return that is falling short of international standards would mean a violation of the principle of non-refoulement. Current global governance of forced displacement impeding seeking asylum, delaying resettlement, and facilitating return ends up violating the very founding principles of the international refugee regime while exposing refugees and asylum-seekers to violence and higher risks. Continue reading >>
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01 October 2020
The Burden of Being “Safe”
Cooperation on migration management has been recently characterised by a process of “informalisation”, most prominently in relation to readmission, which saw the proliferation of informal agreements of a dubious legal nature – particularly from a rule of law perspective. This expansion has been two-fold. First, the use of informal agreements has expanded from the national level to the EU level. Second, the informalisation of cooperation with third countries has extended to include not only migration and border management, but also asylum management. This post aims to analyse both expansive shifts, highlighting their impact on international responsibility sharing mechanisms and the protection of asylum seekers’ fundamental rights. Continue reading >>
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01 October 2020
Frequent Recourse to the Principle of ‘Effectiveness’ in ECJ Asylum Jurisprudence
An empirical study of all asylum-related preliminary rulings reveals a disquieting trend: the Court has adopted an administrative, passivist role within the area. Its distinguishing features include an overzealous concern for the technicalities of the legislative instruments before it and sparse to no references to human rights instruments or values in the operative parts of the judgments. In light of the symbolic power carried by the Court’s language, this trend risks sending the wrong signal to national judicial instances; namely, that concerns for the system can legitimately trump concerns for the individuals caught in it. Continue reading >>
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28 September 2020
The External Dimension of EU Migration and Asylum Policy
This online symposium is being held just before the ACES-Asser conference on ‘Migration deals and their damaging effects’, which will take place online on 8-9 October. The conference and the contributions in this symposium aim to examine the legal and policy implications of the increased informalisation of the EU’s external action in the field of migration and asylum. The use of informal instruments in EU external relations is nothing new. At the same time, the increasing recourse to such instruments in the past few years has been a growing cause of concern over their potential detrimental effects on the rights of migrants and refugees, the EU’s institutional balance, the rule of law, as well as the global regime for protection of refugees. Continue reading >>
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25 September 2020
Bad Role Models
Over the past several months, there has been an increase in asylum seekers and refugees crossing the English Channel in small inflatable boats. This prompted the UK government to propose stemming arrivals with an Australian-style approach: ‘pushing back’ boats to France before they can reach British territorial waters. The UK already funds France to prevent asylum seekers leaving French territory through ‘pullback’ measures. Such pushback and pullback practices likely violate several international refugee, human rights and law of the sea obligations. Continue reading >>10 July 2020
Ask the Dust
Last week, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) condemned France for violating Article 3 of the Convention, by reducing asylum seekers to destitution in such an intensity that it constitutes a degrading treatment. It asserts that the French authorities failed to fulfill their obligations under national law against three of the plaintiffs. According to the Court, the national authorities must be held responsible for the conditions in which they left the asylum seekers, who lived for months on the street, without any resources, without any access to sanitary facilities, without any means of providing for their basic needs and in the constant anguish of being attacked and robbed Continue reading >>
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25 March 2020
First Order, then Humanity
While most news platforms are providing up-to-date information on Covid-19, one can easily forget the people trying to enter Greece to seek asylum, waiting at the Turkish side of the border or that are being detained and punished on Greek territory on the grounds of illegal entry. Europe’s response to the situation at the Greek external border does not follow its own rules. It abandons European values and foundational principles. The decision to launch a Frontex activity seems to follow a current trend to perceive human rights as subordinate to the unfettered sovereign rights of States. Continue reading >>
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17 March 2020
Wie die EU ihre Souveränität, ihre Werte und Flüchtlinge schützen kann
Die Vorkommnisse an der griechisch-türkischen Grenze machen deutlich: die EU braucht dringend einen neuen Plan im Umgang mit Flüchtlingen in der Region um Syrien. Das europäische Vorgehen muss dabei nicht nur realistisch sein, sondern ein demokratisches und menschenrechtliches Gegenmodell zum populistischen Abschotten bieten. Continue reading >>12 September 2019