Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this module, students who have engaged fully with this module will be able to:
LO1: Compare approaches of diffuse legal systems impacting on an individual’s asylum/refugee/protection status;
LO2: Appraise the utility and limits of law pertaining to recognition as a refugee and/or a person in need of protection;
LO3: Analyse the politics of asylum and refugee law within international, European and domestic settings;
LO4: Evaluate the effectiveness of human rights legal protections for asylum seekers, refugees and those with complementary protection statuses;
LO5: Reflect on the functions and purposes of asylum and refugee law in the modern era.
Indicative Module Content:
Three core themes will be examined in this module.
(i) The Law of Protection: International and European regional refugee and protection law only offers limited protection to certain types of migrant fleeing persecution and serious harm. This topic explores sources of asylum and refugee law. A detailed evaluation of the development and implementation of a 'law of protection’ focusing on refugee protection and subsidiary protection. Detailed case-studies will be engaged with, asking key legal questions such as: (1) Who is entitled to refugee or subsidiary protection? (2) Why did these legal definitions of protection develop in the manner that they did; and (3) Are these definitions overly legalistic?
(ii) Exclusions & Decision Making: We examine the legal impact of exclusions from protection set out under law and other barriers that exist such as: internal protection alternatives and the concept of 'safe' countries . We consider status determination processes and reflect on how protection claims determined.
(iii) Politics and rights in asylum and refugee law: Towards the end of the module, we take our legal knowledge and understanding and think of broader questions, such as (1) do persons seeking protection have a ‘right’ of entry to a State to make a protection claim; (2) how has the concept of ‘burden sharing’ within protection claims distributions in Europe; and (3) what are the rights of persons seeking asylum while awaiting determination of their protection claim? What are the rights of persons who have been granted protection?