University of Galway

Course Module Information

Course Modules

12 months long | Credits: 10

This module explores the history and development of international refugee law and the challenges presented by the current ‘refugee crisis’. Focusing on the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the course opens with an examination of the definition of a refugee, focusing on the inclusion, exclusion and cessation clauses of the treaty. The course also explores the strategies that states 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 elsewhere, such as the ‘safe country’ concepts, the ‘internal flight alternative’ and the concept of non-state actors of protection. The course concentrates on policy and practice in Europe, which has a well-known negative export value, and contrasts that policy and practice with the situation in other post-industrialised countries, such as North America and Australia, and with countries in the global South. Contemporary protection concerns, such as the crisis in Syria and its impact in the Middle East and Europe are also addressed.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1.  Demonstrate an understanding of the inclusion, cessation and exclusion clauses of the 1951 Refugee Convention  Discuss the overt and hidden obstacles to refugee recognition  Critically assess State practice in the area of refugee protection  Analyse the tension between international protection and State sovereignty  Develop a realistic and nuanced vision of the way forward for international refugee law
Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
Reading List
  1. "The Refugee In International Law" by Guy S. Goodwin Gill and Jane McAdam
  2. "The Rights of Refugees under International Law" by James C Hathaway
The above information outlines module LW5114: "International Refugee Law" and is valid from 2019 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.