The impact of the principle of non-refoulement on the Dublin Regulation and the Asylum Procedures Directive as adopted by the European Union

Abstract

In the last decades the international community has witnessed large-scale movements of people across international borders. Common for most States are that they desire a smooth and effective system, which can offer both protection of refugees as well as decrease irregular migration. All Member States of the EU are sovereign States, free to design and implement their own legislation, as long as it is in compliance with their international obligations. One imperative obligation is to respect and protect the principle of non-refoulement. This principle is regarded as a cornerstone in refugee protection and an absolute rule within the human rights regime and belongs to customary international law. In recent years, the body of asylum law within the European Union has developed progressively. The legal analysis conducted in this thesis, regarding the Dublin Regulation and the Asylum Procedures Directive, established within the framework of CEAS, has proven that the necessary safeguards essential to the protection of refugees, and, in particular, to the principle of non-refoulement, are strikingly absent.