If it is true that “queer cases make bad law,” then in cases like these, which raise difficult questions relevant to the LGBT community, courts should be especially diligent in showing each step of the analysis, and not blind themselves to the social realities the applicant in front of them faces.
Read MoreOn January 29, 2018, the African Union’s (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government adopted the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment (the Protocol). It aims, among other things, to create a single African market for people, goods, services and capital, much like that in the European Union (EU). While cognizant of the opportunities presented by the Protocol, this article focuses on its risks to refugee protection, with a view to stimulating discussion in this regard prior to entry into force.
Read MoreIn Matter of L-E-A-, the Attorney General abandoned the United States’ long-standing acceptance of family as a particular social group and held instead that nuclear family will no longer necessarily qualify as a particular social group. This decision is incorrect and departs not only from the U.S.’s own jurisprudence, but also from other jurisdictions’ acceptance of family-based particular social groups.
Read MoreThis Article discusses the tragedy that refugees in the Maghreb region face because the Maghreb states have chosen to hide behind security concerns instead of addressing their plight. The lack of national systems of asylum combined with the regional political instability and the absence of a regional model that can be transposed onto the individual countries aggravates the situation of refugees. As long as the Maghreb states continue to act (or rather, fail to act) on the logic that “as long as my neighbor does not protect them, I'll do the same thing,” refugees will continue to suffer in these host countries.
Read MoreThe way in which British immigration courts issue country guidance cases and use them during the well-founded fear inquiry fails to ensure that asylum applicants receive the individualized assessment that is needed to avoid returning them to countries where they risk persecution on a protected ground. Country guidance should not serve as an obstacle to claiming asylum, but rather as a way for similarly situated refugees to efficiently demonstrate prima facia cases for protection.
Read MoreIs a refugee entitled to the same disability benefits generally as Korean nationals based on the Refugee Convention Article 24 and the Refugee Act of Korea Articles 30 and 31, without requiring further individual legislation? This was the question the Busan District and High Courts of South Korea faced in Baloch Meer Balach Muhammad Zai v. Busan-Gwangyeogsi Sasang-gucheongjang (“Meer”). In this case, the courts grappled with whether refugees were entitled to disability benefits and how to define that right, making the first major decision on refugee rights in Korea.
Read MoreProfessor James C. Hathaway addresses the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Attorney General v. East Bay Sanctuary, the case pertaining to the Trump Administration's attempt to unilaterally issue a "safe third country" rule for asylum seekers.
Read More“Safe third countries” policies (better termed compulsory secondary movement policies) have been gaining popularity since the 1990s. Are they in compliance with Article 32 to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (“the Convention”), which sets limits on contracting states’ power to deport refugees to non-persecutory countries?
Read MoreTwenty years ago, the European Council’s session in Tampere set out a roadmap for Europe to establish a Common European Asylum System. In recent years, asylum policy has become a contentious aspect of European Union politics. This article by Dr. Salvatore Nicolosi analyzes these developments in the context of the longer-term goal of creating a uniform recognition of asylum status in the European Union.
Read MoreDomestic advocates have used Administrative Law to frame arguments about the International Refugee Convention. While this has resulted in a victory for those affected by the cancelation of the Central American Minors Program, administrative law cannot provide the same durable and stabilizing humanitarian system that the Convention does.
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