The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol are the cornerstones of international refugee law. This Commentary provides a systematic, article-by-article analysis of their provisions in addition to crosscutting thematic chapters. The Commentary is an indispensable tool for lawyers, decision-makers, and academics.

'.. this work is intended to provide an in-depth analysis of each and every provision of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol. Special contributions on topics that cut across various provisions or that provide an overview over developments in certain regions of the world complement this Commentary.'

In international law, the refugee definition enshrined in Article 1A(2) of the Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol is central. Yet, seven decades on, the meaning of its key terms are widely seen as unclear. The Refugee Definition in International Law asks whether we must continue to accept this or whether a systematic legal analysis can shed new light on this important term. The volume addresses several framework questions concerning approaches to definition, interpretation, ordering, and the interrelationship between the definition's different elements. Each element is then analysed in turn, applying Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties rules in systematic fashion. Each chapter evaluates the main disputes that have arisen and seeks to distil basic propositions that are widely agreed, as well as certain suggested propositions for resolving ongoing debates. In the final chapter, the basic propositions are assembled to demonstrate that in fact there is now more clarity about the definition than many think and that considerable progress has been made toward achieving a working definition.

The status of the refugee in international law, and of everyone entitled to protection, has ever been precarious, not least in times of heightened and heated debate: people have always moved in search of safety, and they always will. In this completely revised and updated edition, the authors cast new light on the refugee definition, the meaning of persecution, including with regard to gender and sexual orientation, and the protection due to refugees and those affected by statelessness or disasters. They review the fundamental principle of non-refoulement as a restraint on the conduct of States, even as States themselves seek new ways to prevent the arrival of those in search of refuge. Related principles of protection—non-discrimination, due process, rescue at sea, and solutions— are analysed in light of the actual practice of States, UNHCR, and treaty-monitoring bodies. The authors closely examine relevant international standards, and the role of UNHCR, States, and civil society, in providing protection, contributing to the development of international refugee law, and promoting solutions. New chapters focus on the evolving rules on nationality, statelessness, and displacement due to disasters and climate change. This expanded edition 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.

This book considers the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ contribution to international refugee law since the establishment of UNHCR by the United Nations General Assembly in 1951. The book explores the historical and statutory foundations that create an indelible link between UNHCR and international refugee law. This book charts the significant evolution that has occurred in the organisation’s role throughout the last sixty years, looking at both the formal means by which UNHCR’s mandate may be modified, and the techniques UNHCR has used to facilitate the changes in its role, thereby revealing a significant evolution in the organisation’s role since the onset of the crisis in refugee protection in the 1980’s. UNHCR, itself, has demonstrated its organizational autonomy as the primary agent for the adaptation of its responsibilities and work related to international refugee law. The author does suggest however that UNHCR needs to continue to extend and strengthen its role related to international refugee law if UNHCR is to ensure a stronger legal framework for the protection of refugees as well as a fuller respect for refugees’ rights in practice. UNHCR and International Refugee Law should be of particular interest to refugee lawyers as well as academics and students of refugee law and international law, and anyone concerned with the important role that UNHCR plays in the protection of refugees today.

The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and its 1967 Protocol, and many other important international instruments recognize the unique role the UNHCR plays in protecting refugees and supervising international refugee law. This in-depth analysis of the UNHCR's supervisory role in the international refugee protection regime examines the part played by key institutions, organizations and actors in the supervision of international refugee law. It provides suggestions and recommendations on how the UNHCR's supervisory role can be strengthened to ensure greater State Parties' compliance to their obligations under these international refugee rights treaties, and contributes to enhancing the international protection of refugees and to the promotion of a democratic global governance of the international refugee protection regime.

The only comprehensive analysis of international refugee rights, anchored in the hard facts of refugee life around the world.

Temporary protection is a flexible tool of international protection, which offers sanctuary to those fleeing humanitarian crises, and currently affects the lives and legal status of millions of forced migrants. However, the content, boundaries and legal foundation of temporary protection, remain largely undefined or unsettled. There are only a few instruments that provide guidance to states on how to respond to mass influx situations and how to implement temporary protection regimes. In Temporary Protection in Law and Practice, Meltem Ineli-Ciger takes a step towards clarifying those undefined aspects of temporary protection, by examining temporary protection’s legal foundation in international law and its relationship with the Refugee Convention. The book also reviews temporary protection policies in Europe, Southeast Asia, Turkey and the United States, with a view to identifying elements that enhance and compromise the legality and viability of temporary protection regimes. Building on this analysis and legal limitations to the freedom of states to conceptualize different aspects of temporary protection, this book provides guidance to states on how to introduce and implement a viable temporary protection regime, which operates within the boundaries of international law and international human rights law.

The Ashgate Research Companion to Migration Law, Theory and Policy complements the already successful Ashgate series Law & Migration, established in 2006 which now has a number of well-regarded monographs to its credit. The purpose of this Companion is to augment that Series, by taking stock of the current state of literature on migration law, theory and policy, and to sketch out the contours of its future long-term development, in what is now a vastly expanded research agenda. The Companion provides readers with a definitive and dependable state-of-art review of current research in each of the chosen areas that is all-embracing and all-inclusive of its subject-matter. The chapters focus on the regional and the sub-regional, as well as the national and the global. In so doing, they aim to give a snap-shot that is contextual, coherent, and comprehensive. The contributors are both world-renowned scholars and newer voices and include scholars, practitioners, former judges and researchers and policy-makers who are currently working for international organisations.

Written in a lively and engaging style from the perspective of a leading immigration judge, this book examines how states resolve disputes with migrants. The chapters reflect on changes in the laws and rules of migration on an international and regional basis and the impact on the parties, administration, public and judiciary. The book is a critical assessment of how the migration tribunal system has evolved over the last century, the lessons which have been learnt and those which have not. It includes additional comparative contributions by authors on international jurisdictions and is a valuable overview of the evolution and future of the immigration tribunal system which will be of interest to those involved in human rights, migration, transnational and international law.