Recent Developments in Austrian Asylum Law: A Race to the Bottom?

Abstract

The Austrian asylum policy is shifting from a showcase of support to asylum seekers to one of the most restrictive in Europe. Recent amendments to the asylum law are due to the massive influx of asylum seekers in 2015/2016 as a result of which Austria has accepted the second largest number of asylum seekers per capita in Europe. The Austrian government first responded by setting an upper limit of asylum applications from 2016 and then by creating the possibility of suspending its obligations under international and European asylum law. Both measures are legally doubtful and based on the assumption that if the upper limit is met this may threaten the maintenance of public order and the protection of internal security, which is not possible to prove. The contribution provides a legal analysis of the recent legal developments in Austrian asylum law, which are reviewed from the perspective of international and European asylum law as well as human rights. It concludes that the Austrian measures are part of a race to the bottom of European countries with the purpose of keeping refugees away. They cannot be justified from a legal perspective and create a threat to the respect for the rule of law.