| International Refugee Law

How does this course relate to the programme curriculum: Does it develop on a prior course in the programme or is it a foundational or standalone course?

This course is proposed as a standalone course with a specialised focus on international legal norms on refugee protection.

Describe how you have approached the course. What have you included/excluded and why? Choice of materials: primary or secondary readings / case law;

International refugee law is premised on the need to provide protection to those whose home state cannot or does not extend them protection and instead persecutes them. Indeed, the grant of refuge to those fleeing persecution has been ‘one of humanity’s most long-standing traditions.’ An estimated 66 million persons have been displaced around the world from their homes. The imperative of providing a safety net and a back-up source of protection to such persons at risk of persecution lies at the heart of the discipline.

The course shall provide an overview of the body of international legal instruments that have evolved over the last century in response to the challenge of forced migration around the world. The main thrust of the course shall be on the basic concepts of international refugee law. Further, the course shall emphasise on the connection between refugee protection and the agenda of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The course shall also introduce students to the intersection of international refugee law and state policy and practice on refugees in India. The course will straddle primary literature of the UNHCR, case laws from other jurisdictions as well as materials from India, in addition to secondary literature on the core concepts of refugee law.

Describe your pedagogical method: lectures, Socratic discussion, seminar style discussion, response papers or group work, field work;

This Course shall be taught in a Seminar Format. After the introductory lectures, groups of students (in groups of three students) shall be required to lead discussion in Seminars of two hours. In addition, practitioners working on refugee protection in India shall also be invited to address students in a few lectures.

Describe the layout of the course: module structure and sequence.

Module 1: Introduction to International Refugee Law: Background, History, Context and Conceptual Foundation (4 Hours)

This Module examines the foundational concepts of Refugee Law. Specifically, the module tracks the patterns of forced international migration, the rationale for extending protection to victims of forced migration, a human right of freedom to move to another country and the scope of the expression, ‘asylum’. In addition, this Module shall try to introduce students to different sociological, demographic, historical and legal perspectives on migration and refugee status. The origin of international regime on protection of refugee law shall also be examined so as to historicize refugee law.

Module 2: Overview of the International Legal Regime on Protection of Refugees (4 hours)

This module seeks to provide an overview of the existing institutional and normative framework on refugee protection in international law. In particular, the class shall be introduced to key international treaty-regimes on refugees as well as provisions dealing with refugee protection in international human rights law. In addition, the module shall introduce students to the concept of complementary protection in international law. Lastly, the module shall look into the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in protection of refugees.

Module 3: Principles of Refugee Protection (4 hours)

This Module shall explore some of the fundamental universal principles that have informed and shaped the evolution of the international framework for refugee protection. These overarching principles and concepts, often derived from general international law, shall be examined. In particular, the Module shall discuss the principle of non-refoulement, asylum, and non-discrimination.

Module 4: Who is a Refugee (14 hours)

This Module examines the criteria for grant of refugee protection in international law and shall seek to analyse the scope of the definition of refugee. As part of this exercise, the Module shall look into different elements of the legal definition propounded by the Refugee Convention.

Module 5: Exclusion and Cessation of Refugee Status (4 hours)

This Module shall look at grounds of exclusion recognised in the Refugee Convention and the cessation clauses that set out the only situations in which refugee status properly and legitimately granted comes to an end. Interpretation of various exclusion grounds, especially those around crimes of humanity shall be examined with the help of case law

Module 6: Durable Solution and Contemporary Challenges in Refugee Law [4 hours]

This Module introduces the students to the broad remedial strategies developed by the global community and recognized in international refugee law for long-term protection needs of refugees. The focus of this module shall be on Repatriation, Reintegration, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction and Development through Local Integration.

Module 7: Refugee protection in India [6 Hours]

The module will discuss contemporary issues that refugees in India face. It will discuss the absence of a refugee law in India and survey the administrative practices that have shaped India’s asylum policy in the absence of a statute on refugee protection.