The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol

A Commentary

Edited by Andreas Zimmermann

Oxford Commentaries on International Law

Comprehensive article-by-article analysis of the two most important documents in international refugee law
Thematic chapters analyse general issues in international refugee law
Analysis of national legislation and practice on the Refugee Convention and its Protocol, making the Commentary indispensable for both international and national practitioners working on refugee cases
Contributions from over 40 highly respected authors with both an academic and a practitioner background

The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol

A Commentary

Edited by Andreas Zimmermann

Oxford Commentaries on International Law

Description

The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees adopted on July 28, 1951 in Geneva provides the most comprehensive codification of the rights of refugees yet attempted. Consolidating previous international instruments relating to refugees, the 1951 Convention with its 1967 Protocol marks a cornerstone in the development of international refugee law. At present, there are 144 States Parties to one or both of these instruments, expressing a worldwide consensus on the definition of the term refugee and the fundamental rights to be granted to refugees. These facts demonstrate and underline the extraordinary significance of these instruments as the indispensable legal basis of international refugee law.

This Commentary provides for a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol on an article-by-article basis, exposing the interrelationship between the different articles and discussing the latest developments in international refugee law. In addition, several thematic contributions analyse questions of international refugee law which are of general significance, such as regional developments and the relationship between refugee law and the law of the sea.

The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol

A Commentary

Edited by Andreas Zimmermann

Oxford Commentaries on International Law

1. Historical development of refugee law, Claudena Skran
2. Drafting history of the Convention/New York Protocol, Terje Einarsen
3. Interpretation of the Convention, Jane McAdam
4. Regional developments: Europe, Anja Klug
5. Regional developments: Asia, Sam Blay
6. Regional developments: Africa, Jacob van Garderen/ Julie Ebenstein
7. Regional developments: Americas, Flavia Piovesan/ Liliana Lyra Jubilat
8. Preamble 1951 Convention, Ralf Alleweldt
9. Preamble 1967 Protocol, Ralf Alleweldt
10. Introduction to Art. 1: Protection of refugees under human rights treaties, Thomas Giegerich
11. Art. 1 A (1) 1951 Convention, Stefanie Schmahl
12. Art. 1 A (2) 1951 Convention, Andreas Zimmermann
13. Art. 1 B 1951 Convention, Stefanie Schmahl
14. Art. 1 C 1951 Convention, Susan Kneebone/Maria O'Sullivan
15. Art. 1 D 1951 Convention, Mutaz Qafisheh/Valentina Azarov
16. Art. 1 E 1951 Convention, Reinhard Marx
17. Art. 1 F 1951 Convention, Andreas Zimmermann/ P. Wennholtz
18. Art. 1 1967 Protocol, Stefanie Schmahl
19. Art. 2 1951 Convention, Helene Lambert
20. Art. 3 1951 Convention, Reinhard Marx
21. Art. 4 1951 Convention, Christian Walter
22. Art. 5 1951 Convention, Achilles Skordas
23. Art. 6 1951 Convention, Reinhard Marx
24. Art. 7 1951 Convention, Achilles Skordas
25. Art. 8 1951 Convention, Ulrike Davy
26. Art. 9 1951 Convention, Ulrike Davy
27. Art. 10 1951 Convention, Stefanie Schmahl
28. Introduction to Art. 11: Refugees and the law of the sea, Roland Bank
29. Art. 11 1951 Convention, Roland Bank
30. Art. 12 1951 Convention, Axel Metzger
31. Art. 13 1951 Convention, Scott Leckie/Zeke Simperingham
32. Art. 14 1951 Convention, Axel Metzger
33. Art. 15 1951 Convention, Constantin Hruschka
34. Art. 16 1951 Convention, Constantin Hruschka
35. Art. 17 1951 Convention, Alice Edwards
36. Art. 18 1951 Convention, Alice Edwards
37. Art. 19 1951 Convention, Alice Edwards
38. Art. 20 1951 Convention, Eve Lester
39. Art. 21 1951 Convention, Scott Leckie/Zeke Simperingham
40. Art. 22 1951 Convention, A. Zimmermann/Jonas Dorschner
41. Art. 23 1951 Convention, Eve Lester
42. Art. 24 1951 Convention, Eve Lester
43. Introduction to Chapter V: Requirements for refugee determination procedures, Rainer Hofmann/Tillmann Lohr
44. Art. 25 1951 Convention, Eve Lester
45. Art. 26 1951 Convention, Reinhard Marx
46. Art. 27 1951 Convention, Jens Vedsted-Hansen
47. Art. 28 1951 Convention, Jens Vedsted-Hansen
48. Art. 29 1951 Convention, Boldizsar Nagy
49. Art. 30 1951 Convention, Boldizsar Nagy
50. Art. 31 1951 Convention, Gregor Noll
51. Art. 32 1951 Convention, Ulrike Davy
52. Art. 33 (1) 1951 Convention, Walter Kalin
53. Art. 33 (2) 1951 Convention, Andreas Zimmermann/P. Wennholz
54. Diplomatic asylum, Eileen Denza
55. Art. 34 1951 Convention, Reinhard Marx
56. Art. 35 1951 Convention/Art. II 1967 Protocol, Marjoleine Zieck
57. Art. 36 1951 Convention/Art. III 1967 Protocol, Marjoleine Zieck
58. Art. 37 1951 Convention, Stefanie Schmahl
59. Art. 38 1951 Convention/Art. IV 1967 Protocol, Karin Oellers-Frahm
60. Art. 39 1951 Convention/Art. V 1967 Protocol, Robin Geiss
61. Art. 40 1951 Convention, Maria Teresa Gil-Bazo
62. Art. 41 1951 Convention/Art. VI 1967 Protocol, Maria Teresa Gil-Bazo
63. Art. 42 1951 Convention/Art. VII 1967 Protocol, Alain Pellet
64. Art. 43 1951 Convention/Art. VIII 1967 Protocol, Robin Geiss
65. Art. 44 1951 Convention/Art. IX 1967 Protocol, Robin Geiss
66. Art. 45 1951 Convention, Terje Einarsen
67. Art. 46 1951 Convention/Art. X 1967 Protocol, Robin Geiss
68. Art. XI 1967 Protocol, Robin Geiss
69. Schedule, Jens Vedsted-Hansen
70. Annex, Jens Vedsted-Hansen

The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol

A Commentary

Edited by Andreas Zimmermann

Oxford Commentaries on International Law

Author Information

Andreas Zimmermann is Professor of Law, University of Potsdam and Director Potsdam Centre of Human Rights. He received his doctorate (Dr. jur.) from Heidelberg, and LL.M. from Harvard. He is a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and a former Member of the German delegation to the Preparatory Committee and the United Nations Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court. He has served counsel in various cases before the ICJ as well as judge ad hoc in various cases before the European Court of Human Rights. He has also been arbitrator under the annex to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and a member of the advisory board on UN issues of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was co-editor, inter alia, of The Statute of the International Court of Justice: A Commentary (Oxford University Press, 2006).

Contributors:

Ralf Alleweldt
Valentina Azarov
Roland Bank
Sam Blay
Ulrike Davy
Eileen Denza
Jonas Dörschner
Julie Ebenstein
Alice Edwards
Terje Einarsen
Jacob van Garderen
Robin Geiß
Thomas Giegerich
Maria Teresa Gil-Bazo
Rainer Hofmann
Constantin Hruschka
Liliana Lyra Jubilat
Walter Kälin
Anja Klug
Susan Kneebone
Hélène Lambert
Scott Leckie
Eve Lester
Tillmann Löhr
Reinhard Marx
Jane McAdam
Axel Metzger
Boldizsar Nagy
Gregor Noll
Maria O'Sullivan
Karin Oellers-Frahm
Alain Pellet
Flávia Piovesan
Mutaz Qafisheh
Stefanie Schmahl
Ezekiel Simperingham
Achilles Skordas
Claudena Skran
Jens Vedsted-Hansen
Christian Walter
P. Wennholtz
Marjoleine Zieck

The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol

A Commentary

Edited by Andreas Zimmermann

Oxford Commentaries on International Law

Reviews and Awards

"The editors and authors have obviously toiled to pen a very readable treatise, on every aspect of a major convention long in need of a seminal analysis like this one." --ASIL UN21 Newsletter, Issue #42, September 2011