Tags
IJ
Admissions requirements
Required: Security & Rights
Recommended: Principles of Public International Law
Description
Refugee or Migrant? Who is an ‘Irregular’ Migrant and who is an Asylum Seeker? How should state authorities treat people who cross their borders and enter their territory?
These are all pressing legal questions, which carry with them political ramifications.
The course focuses on the international legal framework governing migration, including the competences and responsibilities of states and the rights and obligations of the individuals involved in migration and forced migration. As different legal regimes apply to different facets of migration (human rights law, refugee law, international criminal law, humanitarian law, labour law et al.), the course covers several sources and areas of law and their interaction on national, european and international level. It addresses the central concepts and terms, the legal principles, the legal remedies and the case law of international and regional courts.
Topics to be covered during the course include:
Basic Concepts of Migration (Migrants, Refugees, Asylum Seekers)
Overview of the applicable international and European legal framework related to migration with a focus on human rights
Forced migration and Refugee Protection
Immigration Detention
Law of the Sea and migration
Principles on entry and reception conditions
Principles on expulsion and the right to leave
Trafficking and smuggling of persons
Regional Institutions (EU) and their role in migration law and policy
Course objectives
Knowledge
After successful completion of this course, the students will be able to:
Explain the main issues, concepts, and legal principles of international migration and refugee law;
Distinguish the different terms as employed in legal and political discourse;
Apply the legal sources in international migration and refugee law in the analysis of current challenges;
Compare and Evaluate how national, European and international legal norms interact in the field of migration and refugee protection;
Analyse international treaties and case law in the field of migration and refugee law;
Discern relevant facts and apply legal principles to those facts;
Skills
Building on the knowledge, the students will be able to:
Develop legal writing skills, by employing appropriate and academically accepted referencing;
Describe facts and explain legal reasoning and courts judgments;
Write and present orally a well-structured legal argument, using different legal sources and literature and judge real-life problems and challenges;
Undertake an advanced level of analytical examination and original thought;
Identify legal issues and work on a case/problem of moderate complexity
Timetable
Once available, timetables will be published in the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
The course consists of interactive lectures, including student presentations, student-led class discussions, as well as an interactive, student-led Moot Court, where the students will present their case as representatives of the State or as migration/refugee lawyers. Students are expected to play a very active role in class. Teaching materials include primary sources (international treaties, EU law and case-law), secondary literature, and a moot-court case. Students are required to participate actively in the discussions and be ready to present readings in class.
Assessment
In-Class participation and discussion of core readings (10 %) (weeks 1-7)
Presentation/Discussion leader Assignment (15 %) (Weeks 2 - 7)
Moot Court (35%) (17% for written memorials/judgment; 18% for oral pleadings/rendition of judgment) (Week 5/6)
Final Research Essay (40 %) (week 8)
Please note:
In accordance with article 4.8 of the Course and Examination Regulations (OER), within 30 days after the publication of grades, the instructor will provide students the opportunity to inspect their exams/coursework.
There is a no re-sit policy at Leiden University College.
Blackboard
There will be a Blackboard site available for this course. Students will be enrolled at least one week before the start of classes.
Reading list
Course textbook to be purchased by students:
- Pieter Boeles, Maarten Den Heijer, Gerrie Lodder, Kees Wouters (eds), European Migration Law (2014) Intersentia
Course textbooks availability arranged via Leiden Library:
Vincent Chetail, International Migration Law (2019) Oxford University Press
Brian Opeskin, Richard Perruchoud, Jillyanne Redpath-Cross (eds), Foundations of International Migration Law (2012) Cambridge University Press
Vincent Chetail and Céline Bauloz (eds), Research Handbook on International Law and Migration (2015) Edward Elgar Publishing
Generally recommended readings and research resources:
Vincent Chetail (ed.), International Law and Migration, vols I and II (2016) Edward Elgar Publishing
Richard Perruchoud, Tömölova, Katarina (Eds.), Compendium of International Migration Law Instruments (2007) T.M.C. Asser Press
Registration
This course is open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator. Interested non-LUC students should contact course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
m.pichou@luc.leidenuniv.nl