Objectives:
A participant who has successfully completed this course should have a clear understanding of:
- the conventional and customary law obligations of States in respect of refugees and other asylum-seekers and of the rights of applicants
- the protection mechanisms, both national and international, that operate for the immediate and long-term protection of refuge-seekers and the policy considerations that affect contemporary State attitudes to such groups
- the legal problems affecting national interpretations and application of refugee concepts, with particular emphasis on definitional problems, status determination procedures and non-refoulement
- the 'gaps' in international protection and the extent to which international law more broadly is able to address them
Content:
The course will focus mainly on the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol, supplemented by additional materials that assist in the interpretation, construction and critique of these instruments. Particular attention will be paid to national implementation of refugee protection and status determination procedures in Australia, comparing and contrasting the approach taken, where appropriate, with that of other nations.
Addressed will be the origins of the international system of protection, its limitations and deficiencies; the role and relevance of UNHCR; definitional problems; exclusion and cessation of refugee status; core concepts of protection (including complementary protection), asylum, non-refoulement, penalization and refugee rights; asylum, temporary refuge, temporary protection and burden-sharing; durable solutions; protracted refugee situations; status determination procedures; detention; ‘deflection' techniques; other categories such as ‘environmental' refugees and internally displaced persons; and a consideration of possible future directions for refugee law.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
The broad purpose of the course is to examine the international mechanisms and norms that have been developed for the protection of refugees, and the reciprocal interaction between these mechanisms and norms and national policies. As refugee law exists to address a specific humanitarian need, students will be expected to consider critically the law's effectiveness in managing the global refugee situation, the protection needs of refugees, and the impact on national societies.
Consequently a participant who has successfully completed this course should:
(i) be conversant with the substance of the legal norms that govern the international protection system for refugees, the rights international law bestows upon them and the obligations of States in this area;
(ii) have acquired a familiarity with the legal problems caused by definitional and operational issues under the provisions of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees; and
(iii) be able to discuss and debate the various policy issues raised by the implementation of international and domestic protection systems in light of contemporary circumstances.
The domestic implementation of refugee law will be considered primarily in the Australian context. As a result, students will be expected to develop a sound knowledge of the structure of refugee law in Australia, including relevant legislation, case law, policy and determination procedures. For the purposes of comparative analysis, British and European refugee law will also be examined.
Other Information
Although not a set text, students are encourages to refer to J Hathaway, The Rights of Refugees under International Law (CUP, 2005) and G Goodwin-Gill and J McAdam, The Refugee in International Law (Oxford University Press, 3rd ed, 2008).
Indicative Assessment
Students must rely on the Approved Assessment which will be posted to the Wattle course site prior to the commencement of the course.
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
26 Contact Hours (Intensive Delivery over 4 days)
Click here for current timetable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Please refer to the Course Outline when available on the Wattle course site.
Preliminary Reading
G Goodwin-Gill and J McAdam, The Refugee in International Law (Oxford University Press, 3rd ed, 2008) Ch1
B.S. Chimni, 'The Geopolitics of Refugee Studies: A View from the South' (1998) 4 Journal of Refugee Studies 350
Assumed Knowledge
Public international law
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $2958 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $4146 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Spring Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1596 | 13 Oct 2015 | 13 Oct 2015 | 23 Oct 2015 | 27 Nov 2015 | In Person | N/A |
