Part 2 Asylum, 5 The Principle of Non-refoulement—Part 1

Abstract

This chapter evaluates the principle of non-refoulement. In the context of immigration control in continental Europe, refoulement is a term of art covering, in particular, summary reconduction to the frontier of those discovered to have entered illegally and summary refusal of admission of those without valid papers. Refoulement is thus to be distinguished from expulsion or deportation, the more formal process whereby a lawfully resident alien may be required to leave a State, or be forcibly removed. The principle of non-refoulement prescribes, broadly, that no refugee should be returned to any country where he or she is likely to face persecution, torture, or other serious ill-treatment. The chapter examines the sources of the principle; the question of ‘risk’; the personal scope of the principle, including its application to certain categories of asylum seekers; exceptions to the principle; and its operation in the context of extradition and expulsion.