The new Portuguese asylum law in 'fortress Europe'

This paper will analyse the 2013 revision of the Portuguese Asylum Law due to the need to harmonise national law with the European Union (EU) 'Dublin Regulation'. The government1 stated the need to harmonise national law with EU Directives related to the Common European Asylum System and several legal changes took place as a consequence. The non-refoulement principle will be approached, namely, the possibility of sending back asylum seekers to their countries of origin while awaiting a decision on their request for international protection. The fact that the new law broadened detention to more situations will also be considered. Some of the reasons why these changes occurred will be explored within the context of refugee issues and International Human Rights Law.