LL4BB Half Unit
International Law and the Movement of Persons Between States
This information is for the 2015/16 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr Louise Arimatsu
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in Human Rights, MSc in International Migration and Public Policy, Master of Laws and Master of Laws (extended part-time study). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.
This course will be relevant to the following LLM specialisms: Public International Law and Human Rights Law.
This course is capped at 30 students. Students must apply through Graduate Course Choice on LSEforYou.
Course content
The course provides a detailed study of the international legal framework in which the causes, problems, policies, standards, techniques and institutions concerning the protection of asylum seekers, refugees and refugee women, and migrants are situated. The course explores the overlap between International Refugee Law, International Human Rights Law, International Criminal Law, the phenomenon of Migration, including Human Trafficking in the context of refugees, legal and illegal migrants. It covers: the definition of refugees, legal and illegal migrants, including trafficking in human beings; the concepts of 'well-founded fear' of persecution and group eligibility to refugee protection; procedures for determining refugee status on an individual and group basis, in Africa, Asia, Australia, the European Union, North America, and Latin America; temporary protection; the process of exclusion from refugee protection; the role, in refugee law and human rights, of the principle of non-refoulement in refugee protection; the cessation of refugee status, voluntary repatriation, and safe return; standards applicable in international law to the protection of refugees, migrants, and evolving standards against human trafficking; the regulation of migration in regional economic and political unions, namely the European Union, East African Community, the Union of West African States, the Caribbean Community and the Southern African Development Community; and finally the institutional protection of refugees, and migrants by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the, the International Organisation for Migration. Topics include: • International Law and the Movement of Persons Between States • Definition of Refugees • The Right to Seek and Obtain Asylum and Determination of Refugee Status • Exclusion from Refugee Protection • Protection of asylum seekers and refugees from Refoulement • Standards of Protection and cessation of refugee status • Definition of Migrants • Protection of Migrants in International Human Rights Law • Regional Integration and Migration • Trafficking in Human Beings and Human Smuggling
Teaching
20 hours of seminars in the MT. 2 hours of seminars in the ST.
This is based on a seminar format with structured discussions, debates, and presentations by students and guest speakers where appropriate.
Formative coursework
All students are expected to produce one 2,000 word formative essay during the course.
Indicative reading
G.S. Goodwin-Gill and Jane MacAdam, The Refugee in International Law, 3rd ed., (Oxford, 2007) J. Hathaway, The Rights of Refugees under International Law (Cambridge, 2005) E. Feller, V. Turk and F. Nicholson, Refugee Protection in International Law: UNHCR’s Global Consultations on International Protection (Cambridge University Press 2003) I. Brownlie and G. Goodwin-Gill, Basic Documents on Human Rights latest edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, OR Ghandi, International Human Rights Documents, latest edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Assessment
Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.
Key facts
Department: Law
Total students 2014/15: 28
Average class size 2014/15: 28
Controlled access 2014/15: Yes
Value: Half Unit
Personal development skills
- Communication
- Specialist skills