Learning outcomes

The aim of this course is to provide students with knowledge into the different dimensions of international and European asylum law and explain the way they interact through a dogmatic approach as well as case law analysis and in class debates.

After having completed this seminar students should have a thorough understanding of the core topics of international law and EU asylum law (e.g., the principle of non-refoulement; the refugee status; the Dublin system and asylum procedures). Additionally, students will also be able to critically discuss key questions concerning contemporary issues that impact the protection of refugees and asylum seekers from a legal perspective, such as the relationship between gender and asylum or the recent war in Ukraine and the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive.

Syllabus

1. Introduction to Migration and Refugee Law
1.1 Introductory Migration Concepts: Migrants, Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Internally Displaced People
1.2 Global Migration Governance and Protection Regimes
1.3 The Refugee and Migration crisis: Myth or Reality?

2. International Refugee Law
2.1 The international legal framework: The 1951 Refugee Convention and other international legal instruments
2.2 Who is a Refugee? Beyond the classical definition
2.3 The principle of non-refoulement

3. The European Union Acquis on asylum
3.1. The international protection status under EU asylum law
3.2 Solidarity: The Dublin System
3.3 Responsibility: The Directive on qualification for international protection
3.4 Protection: The interaction between the European Union and European Convention on Human Rights and the refugee status
3.5 The EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum

4. Contemporary issues in refugee law: case studies
4.1 Gender and Asylum
4.2 Climate Change & Refugee Protection
4.3 The war in Ukraine and the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive