Module Announcements

Hello everyone!

We only have one more teaching week left before reading week—the final week focused on article 1 of the 1951 Convention. Don’t forget that your formative is due on Friday 08 November. Details of what you should include in your formative submission are under the Reading Week tab of QMplus. You should also all have now received some feedback on your essay topic/question, if you have not received this let me know.

Week 5 Readings and Questions

In week 5 we will explore the reasons and circumstances that may bring refugee status to an end. We consider two types of situations. First, we consider the circumstances wherein the refugee herself, by her actions, regains the protection of her country of origin. Second, refugee status may be brought to an end, independently of the refugee’s volition, where the situation in the country of origin is such that she can no longer refuse to avail herself from its protection. The primary compulsory reading is from Hathaway and Foster, and the second reading from Cole is a more recent article that considers the case study of Eritrean refugees.

Consolidation Activity

As mentioned at the end of class, you should prepare an analysis of the CJEU’s judgement in (New window) Abdulla and (New Window) OA. As you read these cases and prepare the reading, consider the following questions which will be discussed:

1. Do you agree with the reasoning of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the case Salahadin Abdulla and Others regarding when refugee status ceases to apply? Pay particular attention to para. 76 of the judgment, where the Court appears to summarise its approach and justify your position with legal arguments.
2. Having read the CJEU ruling in Salahadin Abdulla & Others, consider the decision in OA. Read paragraphs 17-29 for an overview of the facts of the case and the questions that were asked by the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) to the CJEU. Then consider the reasoning of the Court, contained in paragraphs 33-63.
   1. What requirements must be met by the protection on offer in the proposed country of return in the context of cessation procedures?
   2. What is the role of social and financial support that can be provided by family members to those who are returned to their countries of origin following the cessation of refugee status, in determining whether effective protection is available upon return?
   3. Do you agree with the reasoning of the Court? Justify your position with legal arguments.
3. What are, in your opinion, the links between cessation of refugee status and repatriation of former refugees? What challenges do you think are associated with the return of former refugees?
4. When should “the circumstances in connection with which he has been recognised as a refugee [be considered to] have ceased to exist”? What are the conditions to consider that there has been a sufficient "change of circumstances" in the sense of Art 1C of the Refugee Convention?
5. When should the exemption from cessation of refugee status, on the basis of 'compelling reasons arising out of previous persecution' be deemed applicable?

Have a lovely week!

Ellen