The Refugee in International Law

The status of the refugee in international law, and of everyone entitled to protection, has ever been precarious, not least in times of heightened and heated debate: people have always moved in search of safety, and they always will. In this completely revised and updated edition, the authors cast new light on the refugee definition, the meaning of persecution, including with regard to gender and sexual orientation, and the protection due to refugees and those affected by statelessness or disasters. They review the fundamental principle of non-refoulement as a restraint on the conduct of States, even as States themselves seek new ways to prevent the arrival of those in search of refuge. Related principles of protectionDLnon-discrimination, due process, rescue at sea, and solutionsDL are analysed in light of the actual practice of States, UNHCR, and treaty-monitoring bodies. The authors closely examine relevant international standards, and the role of UNHCR, States, and civil society, in providing protection, contributing to the development of international refugee law, and promoting solutions. New chapters focus on the evolving rules on nationality, statelessness, and displacement due to disasters and climate change. This expanded edition factors in the challenges posed by the movement of people across land and sea in search of refuge, and their interception, reception, and later treatment. The overall aim remains the same as in previous editions: to provide a sound basis for protection in international law, taking full account of State and community interests and recognizing the need to bridge gaps in the regime which now has 100 years of law and practice behind it.

Guy S. Goodwin-Gill is Professor of Law at the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, University of New South Wales, Sydney; Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford; Emeritus Professor of International Refugee Law at the University of Oxford; and Honorary Associate at the Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford. He was a Barrister at Blackstone Chambers, London from 2002-2018, and Rubin Director of Research at the Institute of European Studies, University of Oxford, from 1997-2002. He was formerly Professor of Asylum Law at the University of Amsterdam, Professor of Law at Carleton University, Ottawa, and Visiting Professor at the Universit'e Libre de Bruxelles; UNSW; Melbourne University; Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights; and Osgoode Hall Law School. He has served as Senior Legal Research Officer at UNHCR and is the Founding Editor and former Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Refugee Law. Jane McAdam AO is Scientia Professor of Law and Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW Sydney. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. She publishes widely in international refugee law and forced migration, with a particular focus on mobility in the context of climate change and disasters. Professor McAdam is joint Editor-in-Chief of the leading International Journal of Refugee Law. In 2017, she was awarded the Calouste Gulbenkian Prize for Human Rights, becoming the first Australian recipient of the award. In 2021, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) 'for distinguished service to international refugee law, particularly to climate change and the displacement of people'.