Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE CVL4019

 
TITLE Refugee Law and Policy Issues

 
UM LEVEL 04 - Years 4, 5 in Modular UG or PG Cert Course

 
MQF LEVEL 6

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Civil Law

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit is offered to fourth year LLB (Hons) students. It aims to provide students with a solid grounding in refugee law, as well as reviewing some of the key issues that arise in protecting refugees and assisting asylum-seekers.

These objectives include:

- To create awareness of the causes of forced migration in the world today;
- To give an outline of the legal framework within which refugee law operates;
- To provide a clear understanding of Maltese legislation for the protection of beneficiaries of international protection;
- To give at least a basic idea of other laws and conventions which can be used to provide protection to migrants who need it;
- To make the study-unit as participative as possible by encouraging students to think about issues of forced migration and to give them the opportunity to apply the ‘refugee’ definition in practice, primarily through the use of case studies;
- To encourage critical analysis of state practice with regard to the reception and protection of asylum seekers and the law and practice regarding assessment of asylum applications.

Students will be expected to attend to the lectures and seminars organised as part of this study-unit. They will also be expected to work case-studies and other group-work assigned during the lectures.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the study-unit, students should have obtained:

- An understanding of the refugee definition and other forms of international protection, as well as the type of protection to which beneficiaries are entitled;
- An understanding of how the procedure for the determination of application for refugee status operates in Malta;
- An understanding of the broader human rights framework within which refugee law operates;
- Exposure to some of the legal and policy challenges posed by the reception of large numbers of asylum seekers and the debates surrounding them;
- The basic skills necessary to assist asylum seekers under supervision within the context of the Advocacy Skills study-unit.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

- James C Hathaway & Michelle Foster, The Law of Refugee Status, Cambridge University Press, 2014, 2nd ed.
- Guy S. Goodwin-Gill & Jane McAdam, The Refugee in International Law, Oxford University Press, 2007, 3rd ed.
- UNHCR, Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Seminar

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Presentation No 40%
Examination (1 Hour) Yes 60%

 
LECTURER/S Sladden Ramon Bonett
Martine Cassar
Jeanise Dalli (Co-ord.)
Mireille Mifsud
Clinton John ONeill
Annemarie Pisani
Ferrante Juliana Scerri
Chris Soler
Alex Tortell
Amanda Vella

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit