This article provides a critical analysis of immigration detention regime under European Union (EU) law. It assesses the relevant provisions of the EU Returns Directive and their domestic implementation in several EU states against the underlying requirement for any deprivation of liberty not to amount to arbitrary detention. Three elements embodied in this requirement are highlighted: the exceptional nature […]
Human Rights
The Hidden Costs of Human Rights: The Case of Immigration Detention
Many liberal democracies betray a noticeable discomfort when it comes to public scrutiny of immigration detention, neglecting to release comprehensive statistics about it, cloaking detention practices in misleading names and phrases, and carefully choosing which activities they define as deprivation of liberty. On the other hand, these same countries have laboured to expand their detention […]
Be careful what you wish for
Can the promotion of liberal norms have an unintended – and damaging – impact on how states confront the challenges of irregular immigration? Article for the Forced Migration Review. Read the full article here. […]
Global Trends in the Practice of Immigration Detention
Mariette Grange gave a presentation at the Summer School on Human Rights, Migration & Globalization of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland, Galway, on July 9, 2014. Read the programme here. […]
Migration and Detention: Mapping the International Legal Terrain
This working paper maps the web of international and regional instruments and mechanisms that together make up the legal framework relevant to the phenomenon of migration-related detention, or the deprivation of liberty of non-citizens because of their status. This effort serves a number of purposes: First, it demonstrates the broad expanse of international instruments, above and beyond the core […]
Searching for Safe Haven
Most of the world’s up-rooted are migrants—people who have left their countries in search of food, better living conditions, jobs, or to be with family members. Who deserves protection? What responsibilities should governments and the international community shoulder? How can refugee protection efforts be fine-tuned? What is the price we pay for not coming to […]
