1 The Refugee in International Law

Author(s):  
Goodwin-Gill Guy S ◽  
McAdam Jane ◽  
Dunlop Emma

This chapter provides an overview of the refugee in international law. The refugee in international law occupies a legal space characterized, on the one hand, by the principle of State sovereignty and the related principles of territorial supremacy and self-preservation and, on the other hand, by competing humanitarian principles deriving from general international law and from treaty. Refugee law nevertheless remains an incomplete legal regime of protection, imperfectly covering what ought to be a situation of exception. It goes some way to alleviate the plight of those affected by breaches of human rights standards or by the collapse of an existing social order in the wake of revolution, civil strife, aggression, or disaster; but it is incomplete so far as refugees and asylum seekers may still be denied even temporary protection, safe return to their homes, or compensation. The international legal status of the refugee necessarily imports certain legal consequences, the most important of which is the obligation of States to respect the principle of non-refoulement through time.

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-307
Author(s):  
Barbara Mielnik

Abstract The Nile, one of the longest rivers in the world, has not been subjected to a uniform legal regime yet, despite the pressing needs. The hitherto proposals presented by the riparian states of the lower and upper reaches have not been unanimously accepted. Egypt and Sudan face particular difficult situation since the Nile river is their main source of water supply. It is argued that the lack of necessary coordination among all the States in the basin may in the future lead to significant damage and consequences both in terms of access to water and its quality. This short study critically examines past and present initiatives undertaken to solve one of the most controversial aspects of international law in Africa.


Author(s):  
Boris Krivokapić

The paper deals with international legal status of multinational (transnational) companies. The first part gives an overview of this entities and the specifics of their role in the modern world.In the second part, the author deals with the elements of international legal personality of multinational (transnational) companies. Such as international legal regulation of the position of these entities, their specific rights and obligations under international law, international responsibility, process subjectivity before certain international judicial bodies and the special relationship (partnership) with international organizations. It should be added that not only that international law acknowledges their existence, but also multinational companies themselves at least in part influence the development of that law.In the concluding remarks the author notes that multinational (transnational) companies do not have all the elements of a full international personality, the one that is inherent to states. However, even if not complete their personality is beyond doubt. Although between them, depending on the case, there are major differences, there is no dispute that, from the perspective of international law, at least some multinational companies have the legal capacity (the ability to be the holder of a larger or smaller circle of rights and obligations established by international law), legal capacity (the ability to conclude international agreements, create international custom, etc.), tort capacity (the ability to provide for the legal bears responsibility for violating the norms of international law), process capability (active and passive legitimacy before some international courts), etc. In all likelihood, along with the expected further strengthening of the economic, but also political and every other power and role of the companies themselves, their international personality will also become more and more developed, At one point this will require global (universal) agreement which would precisely define rights, but, in particular, the duties and responsibilities of these entities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atin Prabandari ◽  
Yunizar Adiputera

This article explores how refugees in non-signatory countries in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia, have some protection through alternative paths under international refugee law. These two countries provide forms of protection even if they are not States Parties to the Refugee Convention. These two case studies show that the governance of protection for refugee and asylum seekers is provided through alternative paths, even in the absence of international law and statist processes. These alternative paths offer a degree of meaningful protection, even if this is not tantamount to resettlement. Alternative paths of protection are initiated mainly by non-state actors. The states try to manage alternative protective governance to secure their interests by maintaining their sovereignty, on the one hand, and performing humanitarian duties on the other. In this regard, Indonesia and Malaysia have resorted to meta-governance to balance these two concerns.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wisnu Aryo Dewanto

<p><strong><em>A</em></strong><strong><em>bstract</em></strong><strong><em></em></strong></p><p><em>Ratification in</em><em> Indonesia does not have any legal consequences for the application of the treaties at national level.  The reason is that ratification only binds Indonesia as a subject of international law. In comparison, parliamentary approval in the Indonesian context is not the same as the United States Senate’s approval. </em><em>The Indonesian Government signed the Palermo Convention on December 12, 2000 and ratified it on April 20, 2009. The issue discussed here regards the legal status of this Convention.  In the 80’s it was assumed that any treaties ratified or acceded, would ipso facto be enforceable in Indonesia. I argued that Indonesia should be regarded as a state applying the monist approach, which legal practice seems to reject.  I stand for the monist approach especially with regard to the legal status of the 2000 Palermo Convention. In addition I also argue about the importance of differentiating between Indonesia’s international obligations and the issue of direct applicaton of the Convention by national couts.</em></p><p> </p><p align="right"><strong><em>Keywords: </em></strong><strong><em></em></strong></p><em>Ratification, Integration, Implementation, Treaty, Indonesia’s legal system</em>


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-41
Author(s):  
Roman Kwiecień

The paper addresses the issue of a judicial forum entitled to resolve conflicts between European Union law and national constitutional rules. First and foremost, the issue is discussed under the old primacy/supremacy of EU law controversy. The author seeks to answer whether the national law, including constitutional rules, of a Member State can be ineffective owing to being contradictory to EU law. If so, by whom can national laws be held ineffective? In other words, which of the two judicial fora (national and European) have the last word in these conflicts or who is the ultimate arbiter of the constitutionality of law within the European legal space? The author argues that legal reasoning should reconcile, on the one hand, the specificity of the EU’s unique legal order and effective application of its provisions and, on the other hand, the international legal status of the Member States and their constitutions. This approach leads to the conclusion that there is no ultimate judicial arbiter within the European legal space.


2018 ◽  
pp. 399-409
Author(s):  
Alison Kesby

This chapter uses the object and concept of a chain to examine international refugee law which is shown to be a chain of shifting hue and state of repair. At certain points along its length its interwoven links of gold retain the echo of their humanitarian ideal, and at others its gaps and corrosion come into view, jar, and unsettle. Seen in one light, we see international refugee law as a prized area of international law: the means by which some of the world’s most vulnerable may obtain a recognized legal status and associated rights. In another, its weaknesses become all too apparent, whether the discrepancy between states’ international obligations and their implementation thereof (eg non-refoulement) or the constraints and limits of the Refugee Convention. Issues discussed include the stasis and dynamism of the law, gaps in protection, and ‘burden sharing’ among states.


2003 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER VAN ELSUWEGE

The recognition of Baltic independence in 1991 led to a number of challenges in their relationship with Russia. The legal status of large Russian-speaking minorities in Latvia and Estonia, the unresolved border questions, and the particular situation of Kaliningrad have proved to be the most pressing of these. This article tries to link these topical political issues with international law practice on state continuity. It refers to competing visions of Baltic statehood and its political and legal consequences, particularly in the context of the forthcoming enlargement of NATO and the EU.


Author(s):  
Goodwin-Gill Guy S ◽  
McAdam Jane

The status of the refugee in international law, and of everyone entitled to protection, has always been precarious, not least in times of heightened and heated debate. People have always moved in search of safety, and they always will. This completely revised and updated edition casts new light on the refugee definition, the meaning of persecution, the role of gender and sexual orientation, the types of harm, and the protection due to refugees. The book reviews the fundamental principle of non-refoulement as a restraint on the conduct of States, even as States themselves seek new ways to prevent refugees and asylum seekers arriving. The book analyses related principles of protection—non-discrimination, due process, rescue at sea, and solutions—in light of what States, UNHCR, and treaty-monitoring bodies actually do, rather than merely deductively. It closely examines relevant treaty standards, and the role of UNHCR in providing protection, contributing to the development of international refugee law, and promoting solutions. New chapters bring into focus evolving protection demands in relation to nationality, statelessness, and displacement in the context of disasters and climate change. The book factors in the challenges posed by the movement of people across land and sea in search of refuge, and their interception, reception, and later treatment. The overall aim remains the same as in previous editions: to provide a sound basis for protection in international law, taking full account of State and community interests and recognizing the need to bridge gaps in the regime which now has 100 years of law and practice behind it.


2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 759-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
SERENA FORLATI

AbstractIdentifying the range of lawful reactions to non-performance of treaties is still problematic, as shown by the case concerning the Application of the Interim Accord of 13 September 1995 (FYROM/Greece). After reviewing the current understanding of the relationship between the law of treaties and the law of international responsibility, the author analyses the legal regime pertaining to suspension and termination of treaties on grounds of breach, on the one hand, and, on the other, to countermeasures, arguing that the exceptio inadimpleti contractus may still play an independent, albeit limited, role as a reaction to lawful non-performance of international treaties.


2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-65
Author(s):  
Timothy William Waters

What limits ought there be on a state’s ability to create a homogeneous society, to increase or perpetuate non-diversity, or to create hierarchies within existing diversity? This article examines those questions with reference to the Lieberman Plan—which proposes to transfer populated territories from Israel to the Palestine in exchange for Jewish settlements on the West Bank— as an abstract exercise in demographic transformation by the state. First the article considers if the Lieberman plan would “work”: Would it create the alterations it proposes, and would those changes achieve a stable, peaceful, perhaps even just settlement? It finds that though there is debate about the range of effect, there is little doubt that transfer would alter the state’s demography. It then turns to the international standards that might govern the transfer of territory and the denaturalization of citizens, to see how they would characterize such a plan. It finds that comparisons to ethnic cleansing are inapposite, and that norms protecting citizenship are considerably more complex than they first appear—even allowing ethnically targeted denaturalization in some cases.The article then analyzes the loyalty provisions of the Lieberman Plan, and notes that, contrary to the usual normative assumption that citizenship is tied to the state, the foundations of citizenship are actually a habitual or formative link to a given territory, which in turn creates a right to citizenship not in any particular state, but in the one that incidentally is sovereign over that territory. This interaction of citizenship and territory, when considered together with norms requiring equal protection for all citizens, suggests that the polity has an interest in defining its own territorial scope, and thereby its membership. The legal regime is ambiguous, and therefore deliberations about this question are in the realm of politics. The article demonstrates how transfer’s assimilation to existing norms suggests a novel interpretation of selfdetermination with far-reaching consequences for both sides of the conflict.Finally, the article notes that international law, though it polices excesses, is largely silent on the principal determinant of demography: the fact of state control over territory.


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