Module Information

Module Identifier
LAM4420
Module Title
Migration and Asylum Law
Academic Year
2017/2018
Co-ordinator
Professor Ryszard W Piotrowicz
Semester
Semester 1
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Seminar 11 x 2 Hour Seminars
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT OF 5,000-6,000 WORDS  80%
Semester Assessment ORAL PRESENTATION  20%
Supplementary Assessment WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT OF 5,000-6,000 WORDS TO BE RESUBMITTED, IF FAILED  80%
Supplementary Assessment ORAL PRESENTATION OR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT IN LIEU OF ORAL PRESENTATION TO BE SUBMITTED, IF FAILED  20%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Display a knowledge and understanding of the underlying rationale and methodology of this area of law at the international and European levels.
2. Display a knowledge and understanding of the principal sources of law regulating migration and asylum in EU and Internatioanl Law.
3. Critically evaluate and test the arguments relating to the need for international regulation of migration and asylum.
4. Know how to gain access to the relevant literature and materials in this field and how to use them in critical discussion of the subject
5. Present critical and well-informed argument relating to the establishment and development of international and European legal regimes for the regulation and management of migration and asylum.

Brief description

This module will introduce students to the legal regime with regard to two distinct yet closely related issues: regular and irregular migration, under international law and European Union law; and the law with regard to international protection. In the absence of well organized migration channels in most States, many migrants resort either to irregular migration, such as with the assistance of people smugglers, or else to claiming asylum on human rights grounds. The course assesses the principal legal issues with regard to regular and irregular migration, including the right of States to control their frontiers and their obligation to accept certain categories of migrants, including asylum seekers, as well as the obligations of States with regards to how they treat such people. It also addresses the legal regime with regard to people smuggling and people trafficking, widely recognized as not only a threat to fundamental human rights but also as a major challenge to national and international security and stability.
The course then addresses the law of asylum, both with regard to refugees in the narrow sense but also with regard to those who do not qualify as refugees but nevertheless have an entitlement to international protection, ie, an entitlement, on human rights grounds, to remain in foreign State.

Content

This module will introduce students to the legal regime with regard to two distinct yet closely related issues: regular and irregular migration, under international law and European Union law; and the law with regard to international protection. In the absence of well organized migration channels in most States, many migrants resort either to irregular migration, such as with the assistance of people smugglers, or else to claiming asylum on human rights grounds. The course assesses the principal legal issues with regard to regular and irregular migration, including the right of States to control their frontiers and their obligation to accept certain categories of migrants, including asylum seekers, as well as the obligations of States with regards to how they treat such people. It also addresses the legal regime with regard to people smuggling and people trafficking, widely recognized as not only a threat to fundamental human rights but also as a major challenge to national and international security and stability.
The course then addresses the law of asylum, both with regard to refugees in the narrow sense but also with regard to those who do not qualify as refugees but nevertheless have an entitlement to international protection, ie, an entitlement, on human rights grounds, to remain in foreign State.

Transferable skills

Throughout the module, students will practise and develop their skills of research, analysis, time-management, oral and written presentation. In seminars they will develop their ability to listen, understand and explain subject related topics as well as present a point of view orally and discuss their thoughts with the rest of the class; their assignments will enable them to develop their skills of independent research, analysis, presentation and writing (including data collection and retrieval, IT and time management). All learning throughout the module will be relevant to a career in any legal profession.


Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7