1 The Refugee in International Law

This chapter provides an overview of the refugee in international law. The refugee in international law occupies a legal space characterized, on the one hand, by the principle of State sovereignty and the related principles of territorial supremacy and self-preservation and, on the other hand, by competing humanitarian principles deriving from general international law and from treaty. Refugee law nevertheless remains an incomplete legal regime of protection, imperfectly covering what ought to be a situation of exception. It goes some way to alleviate the plight of those affected by breaches of human rights standards or by the collapse of an existing social order in the wake of revolution, civil strife, aggression, or disaster; but it is incomplete so far as refugees and asylum seekers may still be denied even temporary protection, safe return to their homes, or compensation. The international legal status of the refugee necessarily imports certain legal consequences, the most important of which is the obligation of States to respect the principle of non-refoulement through time.