1. What are the benefits and the problems of operating with an international definition of who is a refugee?

A. Identify the sources of international definition – the Refugee Convention and EC Qualification Directive.

B. Consider the effects of being able to use case law from other jurisdictions

C. Consider the effects of an international Convention being operated without an international enforcement body

D. Note any impact on UK law of decisions on the refugee definition made by the CJEU.

 

2. Should gender be a Convention reason?

A. Consider how gender is and is not like the existing Convention reasons

B. Discuss the extent to which gender can be used to constitute a particular social group.

C. Identify any gaps in protection which the case law or your wider reading discloses

This essay could be done as a discussion simply of materials found in this chapter, or could form a much wider research project and lengthier essay

 

3. Is discrimination in relation to social rights a suitable basis for an asylum claim?

A. Explain with reference to Hathaway and definitions of persecution how this comes to be an issue.

B. Mention how this kind of persecution is referred to in the Qualification Directive

C. Give examples from case law of when an argument of this kind is used, and discuss its success or failure.

D. Identify the factors which influence the success or failure of this argument.

 

4. Would it be helpful to generalize about whether those fleeing the Middle East and Africa and coming to Europe in 2015 are refugees within the terms of the Refugee Convention?

A. The question comes out of media debates about whether those fleeing are refugees or ‘economic migrants’. Find some of these sources and look at any criteria that are being used to make the distinction. Consider any purpose that they serve.

B. Does the Refugee Convention contain any provision for making generalisations about a group?

C. Does the Common European Asylum System make any such provision?

D. Would such a provision be helpful in the present situation?