The Protection of Asylum-Seekers through the Prohibition of Collective Expulsion under the European Con-vention on Human Rights
(2024) JAMM07 20241Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Mass migrations are a phenomenon of all times. Notably, following the Second World War, there have been huge migration movements and decolonisation processes, particularly by the Germans and the Jews, but also by Roma and other groups. Parallel to that, in 1963, Protocol No. 4 to the Convention was signed, with Article 4 prohibiting the collective expulsion of aliens. In 2020, 3,6% of the population were international migrants, with 26.4 million refugees and 4.1 million asylum-seekers.1 In Europe, in 2023, there were over 1 million first-time asylum applicants for international protection in countries of the EU.2 The protection of asylum-seekers by the European Court of Human Rights (”ECtHR”) has mostly been observed under Article 3 of the... (More)
- Mass migrations are a phenomenon of all times. Notably, following the Second World War, there have been huge migration movements and decolonisation processes, particularly by the Germans and the Jews, but also by Roma and other groups. Parallel to that, in 1963, Protocol No. 4 to the Convention was signed, with Article 4 prohibiting the collective expulsion of aliens. In 2020, 3,6% of the population were international migrants, with 26.4 million refugees and 4.1 million asylum-seekers.1 In Europe, in 2023, there were over 1 million first-time asylum applicants for international protection in countries of the EU.2 The protection of asylum-seekers by the European Court of Human Rights (”ECtHR”) has mostly been observed under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (”ECHR”), prohibiting torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This thesis aims to understand to what extent Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 (”A4P4”) to the Convention also protects asylum-seekers. To do so, it will analyse the case law of the ECtHR from the creation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 until today. This study will be complemented by a critical analysis based on the work of different scholars.
The findings of this thesis will show that through the interpretation of the ECtHR, A4P4 was developed to offer procedural safeguards to asylum-seekers. Furthermore, the European Court widened the protection provided by the Article by applying it extraterritorially when the jurisdictional threshold is passed, notably for asylum-seekers intercepted at sea. However, in recent years, the Court has restricted the protection, by refusing to find a violation when migrants crossed the border irregularly and en masse. Therefore, while the scope of protection seems to have been widened, asylum-seekers who are irregular migrants are now seemingly excluded from it. Finally, this thesis has highlighted the differences and similarities between the protection offered to asylum-seekers by Article 3 ECHR, through the non-refoulement principle, and that provided by A4P4. The conclusion is that A4P4 is a procedural pathway for asylum-seekers to bring their claim for international protection. Ultimately, this thesis found that throughout the years, the ECtHR has interpreted A4P4 towards a certain protection of asylum-seekers. However, to continue to protect asylum-seekers effectively, the Court must be careful not to let itself get carried away by the pressure of European States and the weight of political and economic considerations. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9167005
- author
- Perrin, Mathilde LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- JAMM07 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Collective expulsions - Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 to the European Convention on Human Rights - Asylum-Seekers - European Court of Human Rights
- language
- English
- id
- 9167005
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-25 11:23:16
- date last changed
- 2024-06-25 11:23:16
@misc{9167005,
abstract = {{Mass migrations are a phenomenon of all times. Notably, following the Second World War, there have been huge migration movements and decolonisation processes, particularly by the Germans and the Jews, but also by Roma and other groups. Parallel to that, in 1963, Protocol No. 4 to the Convention was signed, with Article 4 prohibiting the collective expulsion of aliens. In 2020, 3,6% of the population were international migrants, with 26.4 million refugees and 4.1 million asylum-seekers.1 In Europe, in 2023, there were over 1 million first-time asylum applicants for international protection in countries of the EU.2 The protection of asylum-seekers by the European Court of Human Rights (”ECtHR”) has mostly been observed under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (”ECHR”), prohibiting torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This thesis aims to understand to what extent Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 (”A4P4”) to the Convention also protects asylum-seekers. To do so, it will analyse the case law of the ECtHR from the creation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 until today. This study will be complemented by a critical analysis based on the work of different scholars.
The findings of this thesis will show that through the interpretation of the ECtHR, A4P4 was developed to offer procedural safeguards to asylum-seekers. Furthermore, the European Court widened the protection provided by the Article by applying it extraterritorially when the jurisdictional threshold is passed, notably for asylum-seekers intercepted at sea. However, in recent years, the Court has restricted the protection, by refusing to find a violation when migrants crossed the border irregularly and en masse. Therefore, while the scope of protection seems to have been widened, asylum-seekers who are irregular migrants are now seemingly excluded from it. Finally, this thesis has highlighted the differences and similarities between the protection offered to asylum-seekers by Article 3 ECHR, through the non-refoulement principle, and that provided by A4P4. The conclusion is that A4P4 is a procedural pathway for asylum-seekers to bring their claim for international protection. Ultimately, this thesis found that throughout the years, the ECtHR has interpreted A4P4 towards a certain protection of asylum-seekers. However, to continue to protect asylum-seekers effectively, the Court must be careful not to let itself get carried away by the pressure of European States and the weight of political and economic considerations.}},
author = {{Perrin, Mathilde}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Protection of Asylum-Seekers through the Prohibition of Collective Expulsion under the European Con-vention on Human Rights}},
year = {{2024}},
}