07 September 2022
Frontex and Migrantsā Access to Justice
While possibly marking a step in the right direction towards more political accountability, the controversial resignation of Frontexās former Executive Director, Fabrice Leggeri, leaves open the question about the effective judicial protection for migrants interacting with the agency. A number of judicial actions are brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), as the only competent tribunal with jurisdiction on Frontex. By critically reviewing these judicial actions from the perspective of migrantsā access to justice, this post aims to flag the limits of the existing system of EU judicial remedies in light of Frontex wrongdoings. Beyond access to a court, access to justice vis-Ć -vis EU migration agencies must integrate elements of good governance, such as transparency and accountability. Continue reading >>
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24 August 2022
NGOs in distress
During the summer of 2020, two ships operated by the non-governmental organization Sea Watch reached Italian shores after rescuing migrants in distress at sea. Upon arrival, both ships were detained at two Sicilian ports. Sea Watch brought two legal actions for the annulment of the detention measures. On 1 August 2022, the CJEU delivered its judgement on the case. Continue reading >>
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05 July 2022
The Costs of Outsourcing
Last month the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) granted an urgent interim measure according to Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court in a case concerning an imminent removal of an asylum-seeker from the UK to Rwanda. The UK's policy of outsourcing sets another dangerous precedence when it comes to restricting territorial asylum and the basic rights of asylum seekers. It is expensive, contrary to international human rights obligations, has significant adverse effects on those affected, scratches the stateĀ“s reputation, and increases existing tensions with the ECtHR. Continue reading >>
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25 May 2022
Die grenzenlose Aufnahme der ukrainischen FlĆ¼chtlinge und was wir daraus lernen
Mit der spontanen Aufnahme der ukrainischen Frauen, Kinder und HilfsbedĆ¼rftigen hat die europƤische Zivilgesellschaft gezeigt, wie gut sie mit FlĆ¼chtlingen interagieren kann, wenn die Grenzen sich ƶffnen und hemmende Regulierungen entfallen. Die Staaten lernen in den letzten Wochen, eher unterstĆ¼tzend als kontrollierend zu wirken. Diese Erfahrungen sollten motivieren, kritischer als bisher zu hinterfragen, wieweit EinschrƤnkungen der freien Entfaltung GeflĆ¼chteter und ihrer UnterstĆ¼tzer sinnvoll sind. Continue reading >>
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30 March 2022
Does the Threat of Terrorism Justify Migration Restrictions?
Barring migrants for the sake of achieving marginal reductions of already very low risks of terrorism might be justified if restrictions imposed few or no morally significant costs. But, in fact, barring migrants fleeing oppression and war is a grave wrong. It inflicts enormous harm, violates human rights against unjust discrimination, and is also inimical to concepts of dignity prominent in modern European and international law jurisprudence. Continue reading >>
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01 December 2021
āNeuanfangā im āmodernen Einwanderungslandā?
Jedem Anfang wohnt ein Zauber inne. So gehƶrt es zu den Ritualen einer neuen Regierung, der Bevƶlkerung einen Aufbruch in bessere Zeiten zu versprechen. Doch mit dem Koalitionsvertrag endet der Wahlkampf. Ab jetzt sind die Versprechungen umzusetzen. In der Migrationspolitik will die Ampel nicht weniger als einen āNeuanfangā im āmodernen Einwanderungslandā. Mittels eines āParadigmenwechselsā soll kĆ¼nftig eine āaktive und ordnende Politikā betrieben werden, die āirregulƤre Migration reduzieren und regulƤre Migration ermƶglichenā will. Deutschland wird konsequent zu einem der liberalsten und groĆzĆ¼gigsten EinwanderungslƤnder der westlichen Welt ausgebaut. Continue reading >>28 November 2021
Mauern wieder denkbar machen
1985 versuchte die DDR die Bundesrepublik zu destabilisieren, indem sie fĆ¼r tamilische GeflĆ¼chtete aus Sri Lanka ein "Loch in der Mauer" nach Westberlin ƶffnete. Nicht ohne Erfolg: der Diskurs Ć¼ber āScheinasylantenā nahm Fahrt auf, āDie Republikanerā setzten zu ihren grƶĆten Erfolgen an. Angesichts der Furcht vor dem FlĆ¼chtling hatten andere Parteien das GeschƤft Ć¼bernommen, Migration als schƤdlich, Asyl als Ćberforderung und den universalen Geltungsanspruch der Grundrechte als TraumtƤnzerei darzustellen. Die damals Geborenen sind mittlerweile Eltern, Deutschland ist in mitten eines neuen Europas vereint ā aber einige Kosten des damals eingeschlagenen Kurses werden immer deutlicher sichtbar. Continue reading >>
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24 November 2021
The Long Shadow of 9/11
At the broadest level, 9/11 exacerbated the chronic precarity of non-citizensā status as legal subjects governed under the rule of law. In principle, the rule of law is indifferent to citizenship: after all, the legal subject is constituted through subjection to law, not to the state as such. And yet, the rule of law has always been insipid in the sphere of migration, and securitization diluted it even further. This is true across all jurisdictions, including those bound by human rights entrenched in constitutional texts. Continue reading >>
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23 November 2021
Security-vested Institutional Racism
With liminal legal spaces expanding on several domains of non-EU migrantsā lives in Europe, specific populations of third country nationals came to face greater discriminatory treatment. Rules and procedures were being adopted in the name of security and the protection of the public and/or social order against so-called āirregular migrationā. We focus on non-EU migrants in Belgium, as they constitute an extremely relevant case to illustrate how institutions of a liberal, democratic European state have transformed and adapted the ways they operate discrimination along racist lines. Continue reading >>
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19 November 2021