Undergraduate Course: International Migration and Refugee Law (LAWS10257)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | International Migration and Refugee Law will familiarise students with key instruments and legal principles within the international refugee law framework, international protection, and issues of forced migration from a human rights perspective. |
| Course description |
International Migration and Refugee Law will familiarise students with key instruments and legal principles within the international refugee law framework, international protection, and issues of forced migration from a human rights perspective. It will cover core concepts that pertain to asylum, including international treaties, regional treaties, and state obligations, as well as policy, push and pull factors, durable solutions, and root causes of migration. Students will gain an understanding of concepts surrounding asylum, refugee status determination, internal displacement, statelessness, human trafficking and smuggling, citizenship and borders, economic and labour migration, environmental migration, the domestic use of immigration-related terminology, as well as politicisation, misconceptions, the criminalisation of migration, and immigration detention. Specific vulnerabilities and an intersectional view of oppression in the context of persecution will be analysed alongside issues of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation and identity, and persons at heightened risk. Students will be encouraged to critically analyse and engage in ongoing academic debates and to link the ideologies that underpin international human rights law as they pertain to refugees and migration vis-à-vis the impact of migration on individuals. They will also gain an understanding of conducting research on refugees and migrants, country of origin information, and the ethics of researching vulnerable communities that include refugees and migrants
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The formative is a case study where students apply International Refugee Law and International Human Rights Law to a fact pattern and explain their reasoning (maximum of 1,000 words). «br /»
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The first part of Summative is an 1,500 word essay and worth 25% of the mark. The second part of the Summative is an 3,500 word essay worth 75% of the mark. |
| Feedback |
The formative submission will provide students with feedback before they embark on their summative assessments. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and understand sources of International Law. - Study relevant sources of International Refugee Law including UN treaties and documents, regional international law, and international conventions that protect forcibly displaced persons including stateless persons and migrant workers. - Identify sources of International Human Rights law and International Humanitarian Law that protect refugees, migrants, and other forcibly displaced persons, as well as refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) as ¿civilians¿ and/or ¿protected persons¿ in armed conflicts.
- . Critically analyse key debates. - Explore the areas of International Refugee Law where consensus does not exist. - Understand the limitations of International Refugee Law and gaps in protection.
- Conduct subject-specific research. - Identify key international cases that pertain to the topics and issues discussed in class. - Explore the reasoning of international courts, tribunals, and quasi-judicial mechanisms when deciding cases that pertain to refugee protection and rights. - Link international jurisprudence to State practice. - Study the ethics of researching vulnerable groups such as refugees and migrants and challenge assumptions
- Link learnings with practical applications. - Understand the role of civil society, advocacy, academia, and other disciplines in the understanding of international refugee issues. - Identify the interactions, limitations and strengths of the roles of various stakeholders and actors.
- Transfer skills. - Connect ideology, theory, and policy with practice. - Identify practical applications of learnings for the purposes of active engagement on social issues. - Argue persuasively on contentious issues.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The mindsets and skills would be engaged in the following ways:
Enquiry and lifelong learning ¿ Identifying injustice and inequity inspires continued engagement with social justice and advocacy. International Refugee Law necessarily overlaps with many other areas of law as well as disciplines outside of law, which fosters continued curiosity-driven enquiry.
Aspiration and personal development ¿ On a practical level, identifying potential roles for students within the world of refugees and forced displacement.
Outlook and engagement ¿ Identifying local and international efforts in the refugee space and potential participation in activities outside of the UoE.
Personal and intellectual autonomy ¿ Encouraging students to position themselves within the debates based on research and ethics.
Communication ¿ Exploring debates in seminar settings where students are not lectured and are instead encouraged to participate in facilitated discussions. |
| Keywords | Refugees,migration,international law,international migration,forced displacement,asylum |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Dalia Malek
Tel: (0131 6)50 9772
Email: dmalek@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Robyn Blyth
Tel: (01316) 514550
Email: rblyth@ed.ac.uk |
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