Access to Courts for Asylum Seekers and Refugees

Abstract

Abstract This book examines the scope and content of article 16 of the 1951 Refugee Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. It assesses the obligations that bind Contracting States to provide asylum seekers and refugees with access to courts under article 16 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, and whether these obligations extend beyond those that otherwise bind States under international human rights treaties, customary international law, and general principles of law. The book analyses issues on which scholars’ views have evolved over time on article 16. Through doctrinal analysis, it investigates the historical origins of article 16, the extent to which its protections have been subsumed by international human rights law, customary international law, and general principles of law, and its ultimate scope. It concludes that gaps remain in the protective framework of international human rights law and general international law, but that the interpretative approach taken by courts and treaty bodies to the human rights treaties analysed—particularly on the principle of effectiveness—could usefully be adapted to interpret article 16. Applying an evolutionary, teleological approach to the interpretation of the 1951 Convention, the book then analyses article 16’s scope and content in light of the issues canvassed. It concludes that article 16 remains a relevant and robust source of protection for asylum seekers and refugees.