Refugee Chains

2018 ◽  
pp. 399-409
Author(s):  
Alison Kesby
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Burden Sharing ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
A Chain

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.

Alternative paths to refugee and asylum seeker protection in Malaysia and Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atin Prabandari ◽  
Yunizar Adiputera
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
International Law ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Asylum Seeker ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
The Other ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
The One

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.

Gender and the boundaries of international refugee law: Beyond the category of ‘gender-related asylum claims’

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-397
Author(s):  
Christel Querton
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
General Rule ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
General Acceptance ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
Distinct Category ◽  
Treaty Interpretation ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
Human Rights Norms

The adoption of gender guidelines aiming to ensure consistency in gender-sensitive interpretation of the UN Refugee Convention definition demonstrates a general acceptance that gender is relevant to the question of who is a refugee. However, there is evidence that States have failed to adequately undertake the process of gender-sensitive interpretation and implement these guidelines comprehensively. Accordingly, this article argues that the general rule of treaty interpretation in international law enables the identification of a legal obligation of State Parties to the Refugee Convention to take gender into account when interpreting the refugee definition. The precise scope and nature of the duty of States to take gender into account is identified through a dynamic approach to interpretation by reference to international human rights norms. Overall, this article claims that the conceptualisation of a legal obligation in international law to interpret the refugee definition in a way that takes gender into account is inhibited by the development of a distinct category of ‘gender-related asylum claims’ within gender and refugee law scholarship. Consequently, this article presents a challenge to the borders implicit in the category of ‘gender-related asylum claims’ by revisiting the boundaries of international refugee law.

Part II Sources, Ch.13 Customary Refugee Law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lambert Hélène
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
Treaty Law ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
The Right ◽  
To Receive

This chapter explores customary refugee law. Refugee law is primarily treaty law. However, many of the major refugee-receiving countries are not parties to either the Refugee Convention or the Refugee Protocol, for example Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Iran, Jordan, and Lebanon. Hence, customary international refugee law can be critically important in the identification of key principles of refugee protection and as an indication of what is permitted or not. While customary international law may not play as significant a role in refugee law as it does in other areas of international law, there are at least three practices of refugee protection aimed at safeguarding access and admission to refugee protection for which varying degrees of agreement exist in favour of a rule (or emerging rule) of customary law: non-refoulement, temporary refuge, and the right to be granted (to receive) asylum. These practices are deeply intertwined in their humanitarian purpose.

scholarly journals The Transfer of Asylum Seekers in Australia to Third Countries: A Case Study of Sovereignty versus International Law

2013 ◽  
pp. 187-196
Author(s):  
Hugh S. Tuckfield
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
The Cost ◽  
International Conventions

Asylum is an issue equally central to refugee law and human rights. Generally, they are protected under the 1951 Refugee Convention, but asylum cases are largely state regulated affair, subject to state legislations, policies and guidelines, which certainly do not preclude the applicability of international obligations directing the conduct of state towards the asylum seekers, which emanate from the recognized international human rights principles such as right to seek asylum and right against refoulement and right not to be arbitrarily detained. Contracting parties to international conventions such as the 1951 Refugee Convention, ICCPR, ISESCR, CAT, CRC, CEDAW and CERD among others acquire the responsibility to respect, protect and fulfill the obligations adducible in treatment of asylum seekers. In this regard, Australia was one of the earliest state parties to the 1951 Refugee Convention and is also a party to the relevant human rights treaties. However, it is determined to adhere to its conventional understanding of sovereignty and nationalism, at the cost of comprising the minimum protection of the rights of those who seek asylum in it.

Introducing International Refugee Law as a Scholarly Field

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Costello Cathryn ◽  
Foster Michelle ◽  
McAdam Jane
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
International Law ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
Refugee Studies ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
The Future ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
International Refugee Law

This introductory chapter provides an overview of international refugee law. Since the adoption of the Refugee Convention, international refugee law has emerged as a dynamic and ever-challenging area of international law, particularly as its relationship to other branches of international law continues to be explored and understood. The chapter reflects on the emergence of international refugee law as a scholarly sub-discipline in the twentieth century, and its role within the wider area of refugee studies. It focuses on the important interface between scholarship and praxis in the sub-discipline’s development, as well as the field’s methodological strengths and weaknesses. Finally, it presents some observations about the future of international refugee law, identifying potential challenges and opportunities.

Domestic Judicial Design by International Human Rights Courts

2015 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 713-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Kosař ◽  
Lucas Lixinski
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
International Law ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Refugee Law

Regional human rights courts in Europe and the Americas came into being in the wake of World War II. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) were established in order to adjudicate on alleged violations of the rights of individuals. Yet, since their inception these courts have also influenced other areas of international law. A part from their impact on general international law, their case law has had significant spill over effects on international criminal law, international refugee law, international environmental law, the law of armed conflicts, and the law of the sea.

scholarly journals Unfolding Africa's Impact on the Development of International Refugee Law

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Sara Palacios-Arapiles
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

Abstract This article traces the contributions of African states to the development of international refugee law and explores the role African human rights supervisory bodies have played in the interpretation and application of this field of law. While Africa's contributions to international refugee law are often overlooked, this article sets out to identify Africa's involvement in the drafting process of the UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. It also explores the legal framework for refugees in Africa, in particular the OAU Refugee Convention and the Bangkok Principles on Status and Treatment of Refugees, and the extent to which these two instruments have enriched international refugee law. The article argues that some of their provisions may provide evidence of customary rules of international law. Lastly, it examines some of the authoritative pronouncements made by African human rights supervisory bodies, in so far as they adopt a progressive approach to interpreting the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers.

On the Legality Under International Law of the Criminalization or Suppression of the Expression of Solidarity to Refugees

2020 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 102-113
Author(s):  
Obiora Chinedu Okafor
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
International Refugee Law

As Professor Jastram has noted, in and of itself, international refugee law is not explicit enough on the issue at hand. It is not clear enough in protecting persons who come in aid of, or show solidarity to, refugees or asylum-seekers. That does not mean, however, that no protections exist for them at all in other, if you like, sub-bodies of international law. This presentation focuses on the nature and character of those already existing international legal protections, as well as on any protection gaps that remain and recommendations on how they can be closed. It should be noted though that although the bulk of the presentation focuses on the relevant international legal protection arguments, this presentation begins with a short examination of the nature of the acts of criminalization and suppression at issue.

Case Analysis: The Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Case: The Law of Treaties

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malgosia Fitzmaurice
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
Unilateral Termination ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

The subject-matter of this article are the issues of treaty law as expounded in the Judgment in the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros case. The following problems are discussed: unilateral suspension and abandonment of obligations deriving from the binding treaty; the principle of fundamental change of circumstances; unilateral termination of a treaty; applicability of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in this case; legal status of so-called ‘provisional solution’; impossibility of performance and material breach of treaty; the application of the principle of ‘approximate application’; and the principle pacta sunt servanda. The issues arc discussed at the background of the Drafts of the International Law Commission.

COVID-19 și posibilele apărări în dreptul internațional: ar putea forța majoră și schimbarea fundamentetnală a circumstanțelor să justifice neexecutarea obligațiilor internaționale?

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (2020) ◽  
pp. 186-202
Author(s):  
Ion GÂLEA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
International Law ◽  
Common Sense ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
The Public ◽  
Force Majeure ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
International Responsibility ◽  
The Law

The study examines possible defences that States could invoke in order to justify or excuse measures designed to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, which prima facie might not be in conformity with certain international obligations. The study examines only defences available in general international law – beside certain exceptions that might be provided by the clauses of the respective treaties. Two grounds for suspending international obligations, stemming from the law of treaties – impossibility of performance and rebus sic stantibus – and three circumstances precluding wrongfulness, stemming from the law of international responsibility – force majeure, distress and state of necessity – are subject to examination. The study argues that, even if “common sense” might draw the public opinion towards the plausibility of invoking force majeure, impossibility of performance or fundamental change of circumstances, such a conclusion does not reflect general international law. In reality, the “best candidate” as a justification or excuse is distress, while the “second best candidate” might be represented by the state of necessity.

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