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International Refugee Law - LAWS8190 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Description This course provides an overview of international refugee law. It explores the concept of 'international protection' through the lens of the 1951 Refugee Convention, asking who is a refugee?, what status does a refugee get?, who is expressly excluded from protection?, and is this instrument still adequate for refugee movements in the 21st century? It examines the notion of complementary protection (how human rights law has expanded States' protection obligations), the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the causes of and possible solutions to refugee flows, and the political and ethical issues concerning refugees and other forced migrants, including people trafficking and smuggling. It also examines strategies that countries like Australia have adopted in an attempt to deter asylum seekers, such as detention, interdiction, deflection, and temporary protection, as well as legal constructs devised to shift responsibility to other States, such as the concepts of 'safe third country', 'internal flight alternative', and extraterritorial processing. The course considers the extent to which Australia has implemented its international obligations in the Migration Act 1958, and how those obligations have been interpreted by the Department of Immigration, the Refugee Review Tribunal, and the Federal and High Courts. It undertakes a comparative analysis of practices in the European Union, Canada and the United States, and in regions such as Africa and Latin America. Contemporary protection concerns, such as mass influx, flight from generalized violence and civil war, internal displacement, and 'climate-change refugees' are also addressed.
This course is also available to students undertaking relevant postgraduate non-law degree programs at UNSW, provided such enrolment is approved by the appropriate non-law Faculty. LLM Specialisations Recommended Prior Knowledge None, but LAWS8180 Principles of International Law or equivalent is a recommended pre- or co-requisite
Course Objectives This course aims to:
Main Topics
Assessment
Course Texts Prescribed GS Goodwin-Gill and J McAdam, The Refugee in International Law (3rd edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007)
Additional reading materials will be advised before the course begins. Recommended These will be advised in the Course Outline.
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