Transnational constitutional values and protection of the person in the age of climatic migrations

Prowadzenie badań nad migracjami klimatycznymi w perspektywie prawnej powinno mieć na uwadze zarówno trudności, jak i korzyści łączenia rożnych metod i podejść do istotnych potrzeb migrantów. Z tego powodu, aby właściwie wykorzystać instytucje prawne, zwłaszcza w ramach prawa międzynarodowego i jego implementacji, szczególnie ważne wydaje się zrozumienie ich wewnętrznych celów i warunków stosowania. Analiza argumentów podnoszonych przez sądy, w szczególności w odniesieniu do konwencji genewskiej z 1951 r., wskazuje na trudności w adaptacji do kwestii migracji klimatycznych rozwiązań prawnych, które kształtowały się w innej przestrzeni politycznej. W artykule podjęto zatem próbę sprawdzenia, w jaki sposób i według jakich kryteriów można łączyć rożne narzędzia prawne w pluralistycznym i odpowiadającym aktualnym potrzebom podejściu do migracji klimatycznych.

The Role of the CJEU in the Strengthening of the Participation of Third-Country Nationals in the Academic Life in the EU – Analysis of the Ruling of the CJEU in Case M.A. v Consul of the Republic of Poland in N

The analyzed ruling is the first judgement which the Court of Justice passed in order to provide interpretationfor the new Student Directive (2016/801 of 11 May 2016 on the conditions of entry and residence ofthird-country nationals for the purposes of research, studies, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemesor educational projects and au pairing). Due to its judiciary activism, the Court was able to find a connectionbetween the case pending before a national court and EU law in the case of M.A. In the end, the Court finallydecided that in the case at issue, regarding the rights of a foreign national to apply for a residence permit for thepurpose of enrolling in second-cycle studies programme in Poland, the procedure of applying for a long-stay visaon the grounds of national law must be safeguarded by the guarantees under Article 47 of the Charter of FundamentalRights. The guarantees apply to the actual states in which EU law is applicable – in this case the “StudentDirective.” It seems that the ruling in the case of M.A. will play a crucial role in facilitating students’ – TCNs’ – entryinto the territory of the Republic of Poland, while the Polish legislator, in all probability, will be obliged to changethe provisions of the national law in such a way as to make it possible for future students to access a full array oflegal remedies against the negative decisions of consuls.

Migration issues in the EU’s common foreign and security policy – selected aspects

In the discussion on the EU migration policy, it is impossible to evade the issue of the relation between this policy and the EU foreign policy, including EU common foreign and security policy. The subject of this study are selected links between migration issues and the CFSP of the European Union. The presented considerations aim to determine at what levels and in what ways the EU’s migration policy is taken into account in the space of the CFSP as a diplomatic and political (and subject to specific rules and procedures) substrate of the EU’s external action.

The nature of the action undertaken by the UN Special Rapporteur on migrant rights . Selected issues and problems

Despite the contribution they make to the life of host countries, migrants are often subjected to inappropriate or often cruel treatment because they are third-country nationals or are in an uncertain situation. The growing interest of the international community in the subject matter of human rights means that particular attention is now being devoted to migrant rights. The activity of the UN Special Rapporteur on migrant rights, who operates within the framework of the so-called Special Procedures established by the Human Rights Coun­cil, plays a special role among the mechanisms of protection of migrant rights in international relations.

Migrations and the environment – selected legal aspects

The article analyses the environmental aspects of migration in the context of their environmental causes and effects, focusing, however, on the effects. It was recognized that negative changes in the environment are becoming a more and more frequent cause of migration and may lead to a very wide range of migration, which would be very difficult to control. This will, among other things, have environmental effects in countries targeted by migrants. These effects are considered, using the example of Poland and the need to provide migrants with appropriate living conditions, based on legal regulations relating to the provision of drinking water, sewage disposal and municipal waste management. Such situations should be considered by the state by preparing appropriate action strategies, determining the sources of their financing, and introducing the necessary legislative changes.

The paradigm of the migration crisis and its influence on national legislation on irregular migration

The aim of this article is to provide a detailed study of the ways in which the paradigm of crisis has influenced the law and practice of European countries in the field of irregular migration. Bearing in mind that the perception of “crisis” is ambiguous and does not have legal definition, the first part of this paper will provide a clarification of its scope and some contexts in which it is used. Secondly, labelling some situations as “crises” requires some urgent and unusual actions. Hence, it is important to indicate what types of legal measures and normative solutions, therefore, prevail nowadays in the practice of states. The countries that are particularly interesting in this context include Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, whose migration policies have, over the course of the past few years, decisively shifted from a relatively open approach towards more restrictive solutions. Although the crisis in the migration context is defined bipolarly, a characteristic feature of the paradigm shift is focusing on the elimination or at least limitation of the presence of foreigners on the territory of the statethrough border controls, obstruction of access to international protection and family reunification, as well as increasing the effectiveness of forced returns. The result of these consideration has led to the conclusion that on the one hand the authorities’ rhetoric of crisis not automatically mean the use of special and emergency measures foreseen by law. On the other hand, the narrative referring to defeat and catastrophe justified the introduction of controversial solutions in a hurry, often with disregard for the detailed analyses and regulatory impactassessment, which are common in such cases. At the same time, the determinant of the shape of the migration law is the “temporariness” inherent in the crisis paradigm. One of its most important elements is the departure from long-term residence permits, guaranteeing a certain stability in connection with international protection, in favour of short-term permits.

A new type of EU visa? The legal nature of a travel permit issued under the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS)

Głównym celem systemu ETIAS jest selekcja i monitorowanie osób przekraczających granicę zewnętrzną Unii Europejskiej poprzez wydawanie zezwoleń na wjazd. Autorzy tego nowego, zakrojonego na szeroką skalę projektu wyraźnie podkreślają, że zezwolenie ETIAS nie jest wizą, niemniej ten kolejny elektroniczny system autoryzacji wjazdu usprawni zarządzanie mobilnością obywateli 62 państw trzecich, a więc populacją 1,4 mld osób uprawnionych do bezwizowego przekraczania zewnętrznych granic UE. Niniejszy artykuł stanowi porównanie wiz Schengen oraz zezwoleń na podróż, które mają zostać wprowadzone na mocy rozporządzenia ETIAS w 2022 r. Analiza porównawcza zawiera szereg argumentów przemawiających za tezą, że zezwolenia wydawane w ramach nowego reżimu ETIAS wpisują się w szeroką definicję prawną wiz rozumianych jako upoważnienie do wjazdu na terytorium UE.

Extraterritorial application of the right to life on the high sea . Commentary to the Views adopted by the Human Rights Committee of 27 January 2021, A.S., D.I., O.I. and G.D. against Italy, Communication No. 3042/2017

The subject matter of this commentary, which instigates the Views of the Human Rights Committee of 27 January 2021, is the protection of one of the fundamental human rights – the right to life. The Committee, as an authority appointed to oversee compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, had to decide on the issue of Italy’s responsibility for failing to provide assistance to a boat in distress, even if the area in which the vessel was located was not within the territory of this state and other acts of international law attribute the responsibility for executing the rescue operation to a third country. According to the Committee’s views, which applied extraterritorial approach to the protection of the right to life, whenever states have the opportunity to take action for the protection of human rights they should do everything possible in a given situation to help people in need.