States, the Law and Access to Refugee Protection

This timely volume seeks to examine two of the most pertinent current challenges faced by asylum seekers in gaining access to international refugee protection: first, the obstacles to physical access to territory and, second, the barriers to accessing a quality asylum procedure – which the editors have termed 'access to justice'.

To address these aims, the book brings together leading commentators from a range of backgrounds, including law, sociology and political science. It also includes contributions from NGO practitioners. This allows the collection to offer interdisciplinary analysis and to incorporate both theoretical and practical perspectives on questions of immense contemporary significance. While the examination offers a strong focus on European legal and policy developments, the book also addresses the issues in different regions (Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Australia). Given the currency of the questions under debate, this book will be essential reading for all scholars in the field of asylum law.

Part I: Conceptual Background
1. Access to Refugee Protection: Key Concepts and Contemporary Challenges
Maria O'Sullivan and Dallal Stevens
2. Asylum in the Context of Immigration Control: Exclusion by Default or Design?
Nadine El-Enany

Part II: Access to Territory
3. Where Do State Responsibilities Begin and End? Border Exclusions and State Responsibility
Júlia Iván
4. Access to International Protection: Border Issues in Turkey
Cavidan Soykan
5. Interdiction and Screening of Asylum Seekers at Sea: Implications for Asylum Justice
Maria O'Sullivan
6. Detained at the Border: Obstacles to Entry for Central American Refugees in the United States
Maggie Morgan and Deborah Anker

Part III: Access to Justice and a Refugee Status Determination Procedure
7. Accessing Fair and Efficient Asylum Procedures in the EU: Legal Safeguards and Loopholes in the Common European Asylum System
Kris Pollet
8. The State of the Asylum System in South Africa
Corey Johnson and Sergio Carciotto
9. Access to Asylum and Reception Conditions in Western Balkans: Focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia
Selma Porobic and Drago Župaric-Iljic
10. Access to Justice for Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Dallal Stevens
11. Accelerated Asylum Procedures in the United Kingdom and Australia: 'Fast Track' to Refoulement?
Linda Kirk
12. Access to Asylum for Victims of Trafficking under a Human Rights-based Approach
Nula Frei and Constantin Hruschka
13. States, the Law and Access to Refugee Protection: Concluding Reflections
Dallal Stevens and Maria O'Sullivan

“The broad geographical scope of this book, its thought-provoking insights on different legal contexts, the noteworthy capacity of the editors to trace the common thread that ties all these different policies and practices of migration control together, makes this volume of high relevance and interest for lawyers, students, scholars and policy-makers in different regions of the world and versed in different legal traditions.” –  Dr Mariagiulia Giuffré, Edge Hill University, Journal of Immigration, Asylum & Nationality Law

“The lasting impression left by the collection is that it is a very powerful documentation of the diverse types of obstacles facing asylum seekers trying to access asylum procedures around the world.” –  Hugo Storey, International Journal of Refugee Law

“The breadth of legal frameworks and state practices covered in the volume gives it a broad appeal… Although it is valuable as a harmonious yet diverse collection of interventions, the chapters are strong enough to be free-standing… It is an engaging volume that will be of use to a wide audience interested in access to asylum justice.” –  Katharine T Weatherhead, International Community Law Review