The Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees in European Law

Cathryn Costello

Oxford Studies in European Law

The first scholarly analysis of EU and ECHR migration and refugee law that includes the post-Amsterdam legislative measures and the Court of Justice's key post-Amsterdam rulings and corresponding Strasbourg case law
Provides insight into the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights as generators of migrant rights, aiding understanding of their positions and interactions with each other
Integrates doctrinal, empirical, and theoretical material on social membership, global justice, and the construction of 'illegality' in migration law into the EU context
Develops an innovative theory of human rights adjudication under the complex and overlapping systems of the EU and the ECHR

The Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees in European Law

Cathryn Costello

Oxford Studies in European Law

Description

Focusing on access to territory and authorization of presence and residence for third-country nationals, this book examines the EU law on immigration and asylum, addressing related questions of security of residence. Concentrating on the key measures concerning both the rights of third-country nationals to enter and stay in the EU, and the EU's construction of illegal immigration, it provides a detailed and critical discussion of EU and ECHR migration and refugee law.

Rights of admission include three categories of entrants: labour migrants, family migrants, and asylum seekers and refugees. Legal entry raises further questions, and recent key measures, including the EU Blue Card Directive, the Family Reunification Directive, and the Dublin Regulation and related instruments are examined. As most of these EU measures deal with those border crossings where human rights norms have already established some constraints on state discretion, the interaction between the EU norms and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is a key concern. The uniting theme is the interaction between established human rights norms, in particular the ECHR, and EU law.

The Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees in European Law

Cathryn Costello

Oxford Studies in European Law

1. Destination Europe: Telos and Chora
2. Constructive Human Rights Pluralism
3. Constructing Legal and Illegal Migration
4. Labour Migration
5. Family Migration
6. Protection from Removal
7. Allocation of Responsibility for Asylum Claims
8. The Punitive Turn: Detention of Migrants
9. Conclusions: Future Directions

The Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees in European Law

Cathryn Costello

Oxford Studies in European Law

Author Information

Dr Cathryn Costello, B.C.L., (N.U.I., Cork), LL.M. (Bruges), B.L. (Honorable Society of King's Inns), DPhil (Oxon) has been a Fellow and Tutor in EU and Public Law at Worcester College, Oxford since 2003. Previously, she was Lecturer in European Law at the Law School, Trinity College Dublin, and Director of the Irish Centre for European Law. She has written extensively on many areas of EU and ECHR law, in particular immigration and asylum. She has also assisted a number of NGOs in the immigration and asylum fields, including the Irish Refugee Council, the Immigrant Council of Ireland, and the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association. She has also undertaken research on human rights and refugee law for the European Parliament, the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly and the UNHCR.

The Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees in European Law

Cathryn Costello

Oxford Studies in European Law

Reviews and Awards

"[A] reliable and accessible source on the status and development of European migration law both for legal practice and for educational purposes. ... this book will stimulate lawyers, judges, students and their teachers to critically rethink their rooted ideas or practices." -- Kees Groenendijk, Common Market Law Review

"At a time when Europe is faced with a mass influx of migrants trying to reach its territory, The Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees in European Law appears as a well-timed and important contribution underlining the tensions between human rights, refugee protection and the sovereign prerogatives of states to control access to their territories. ... It is definitely a well-written and interesting contribution, illustrated by various concrete examples of case law from the courts, which can be of great use for students, scholars and practitioners alike interested in the protection of migrants' rights within the EU." -- Laura LÃ©tourneau-Tremblay, Israel Law Review

"[T]his book is truly an outstanding contribution to the field of European migration and asylum law." -- Sarah Singer, Border Criminologies

"To write a monograph on migrants and refugees in Europe is challenging enough. To write it as the continent was facing the largest influx of forcibly displaced persons since the end of the Second World War and yet to still produce a classic study that is timeless in its thematic analysis reflects the insight and authority of the author ... Professor Costello's work should be read by all lawyers, practitioners, and policymakers working in the areas of international refugee law, international human rights law, and European law." -- Geoff Gilbert, International Journal of Refugee Law

"This book is an invaluable resource for all scholars, practitioners and students of EU human rights, asylum and migration law. The incredibly detailed exposition of the thematic areas included therein provides an essential point of reference for teachers, students and researchers alike. Recently awarded the Odysseus Network Best Publication Prize, this book is truly an outstanding contribution to the field of European migration and asylum law." - Sarah Singer, Border Criminologies

"This book provides an excellent examination of the current state and the history of how Europe has arrived at the current conjunction. Costello's final thoughts provide food for thought on where the future of these systems may lie." -- Elspeth Guild, The Modern Law Review

"Professor Cathryn Costello grapples with three complex spheres of law - migration, human rights, and European Union and brings them into conversation with one another. Her lucid and compelling analysis illuminates the state of the jurisprudence, the rapid evolution of the European legal order, and the underlying normative tensions at play. This book could not be more timely, and Professor Costello eloquently demonstrates how Europes legal response to migration and refugee challenges go to the heart of what Europe is and aspires to be. This is an important book." -- Audrey Macklin, Professor and Chair in Human Rights Law, University of Toronto

"This is an important and timely contribution to the difficult topic of the asylum and immigration law in Europe. Its scope - ranging across European and international law - enables Costello to shed new light on how human rights law responds to challenges relating to migration control and migration status." -- Jo Shaw, Salvesen Chair of European Institutions, University of Edinburgh

The Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees in European Law

Cathryn Costello

Oxford Studies in European Law

From Our Blog

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Europe has an apparent human rights surfeit. The European Convention on Human Rights and its dedicated Court of Human Rights establishes a pan-European human rights minimum. The EU has its Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Court of Justice, widely regarded as the most powerful supranational court in the world.

Posted on December 18, 2015

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