| CODE | INL5027 | ||||||||
| TITLE | International Law and Forced Migration | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | International Law | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit addresses the practical and legal challenges posed by the phenomenon of forced migration, an issue which has intensified in recent years. The problems of forced migration for the international community are significant. Issues relating to smuggling of migrants, trafficking in individuals and refugee law are central to understanding this. Discussions on human security and humanitarian action complement the lectures. This study-unit serves to sensitize participants on the continuing importance of protecting the dignity of the human person at all times. This study-unit will be primarily lecture-based with a number of interactive seminars/sessions. The first part of the programme will commence by introducing the students to the concept of forced migration and its effects on the stability of international peace and security. The notion of forced migration will be examined against other forms of migration and how these are regulated under international law. It will then address the basic rules and principles of the law of the sea to give a background to the maritime aspect of this phenomenon. In this respect, it will also cover the state of play relating to irregular migration by sea. Particular attention will be given to the crime of smuggling of migrants by sea in this context and strategies to repress this threat, focusing on the applicable regimes and mechanisms found in international law and policy. The first part of the study-unit will close by providing participants with an analysis of contemporary international law regulating maritime search and rescue, in particular, on the effectiveness of this regime in the face of increased irregular mass migration by sea. The second limb of the study-unit will be seminar-based, discussing case-studies and literature. Participants will be expected to apply knowledge gained during the study-unit to a set of facts, demonstrating how international law and policy can be utilised to repress the said crimes while concomitantly protecting the inherent human rights of the migrants. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims to provide participants with an understanding of human security and forced migration and its significance on the national security of States and the protection of human rights and refugee rights. It is designed to equip participants with knowledge of the applicable international law and policies relating to the prevention and suppression of the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons. Furthermore, the study-unit intends to make the student aware of the importance of rendering due protection to the human person in these situations. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Analyse the importance of human security and human rights for the maintenance of international peace and order; - Achieve knowledge of the principles regulating the smuggling and trafficking of persons and refugee law; - Evaluate the human element of the above and the international law rules that have developed to protect the dignity of the human person; - Acknowledge the importance of respecting human rights law and refugee law when addressing the crimes of smuggling and trafficking of persons; - Examine the role of international organizations in the protecting migrants, smuggled and trafficked individuals and refugees. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Be conversant in critical reasoning with respect to protecting human security and dignity of victims of these crimes; - Apply learned knowledge to human security scenarios with particular emphasis on the protection of the fundamental rights of migrants, smuggled and trafficked individuals and refugees. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main texts: - Yoshifumi Tanaka, The International Law of the Sea (4th edn, Cambridge University Press 2023) - Natalie Klein, Maritime Security and The Law of the Sea (Oxford University Press 2011) - Patricia Mallia, Migrant Smuggling by Sea: Combating a Current Threat to Maritime Security through the Creating of a Co-operative Framework (Martinus Nijhoff 2010) - Felicity Attard, The Duty of the Shipmaster to Render Assistance at Sea under International Law (Brill 2020) - Guy S. Goodwin-Gill, Jane McAdam and Emma Dunlop, The Refugee in International Law (4th edn, Oxford University Press 2021) - Richard Barnes, ‘Refugee Law at Sea’ (2004) 53 International & Comparative Law Quarterly 4 - Irini Papanicolopulu, ‘Human Rights and the Law of the Sea’ in David Joseph Attard (ed), The IMLI Manual on International Maritime Law Volume 1: The Law of the Sea (OUP 2014) - Silja Klepp, ‘A Double Blind: Malta and the Rescue of Unwanted Migrants at Sea, a Legal Anthropological Perspective on the Humanitarian Law of the Sea’ (2011) 23 International Journal of Refugee Law 538. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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