Fundamental Rights Challenges in Border Controls and Expulsion of Irregular Immigrants in the European Union by Carrera, Sergio; Stefan, Marco;

Short description:

This edited volume examines the extent to which the various authorities and actors currently performing border management and expulsion-related tasks are subject to accountability mechanisms capable of delivering effective remedies and justice for abuses suffered by migrants and asylum seekers.

Long description:

This edited volume examines the extent to which the various authorities and actors currently performing border management and expulsion-related tasks are subject to accountability mechanisms capable of delivering effective remedies and justice for abuses suffered by migrants and asylum seekers.

Member states of the European Union and State Parties to the Council of Europe are under the obligation to establish complaint mechanisms allowing immigrants and/or asylum seekers to seek effective remedies in cases where their rights are violated. This book sheds light on the complaint bodies and procedures existing and available in Austria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Poland, and Romania. It assesses their role in overseeing, investigating, and redressing cases of human rights violations deriving from violent border and immigration management practices, and expedited expulsion procedures. This book therefore provides an assessment of the practical, legal, and procedural challenges that affect the possibility to lodge complaints and access remedies for human rights violations suffered at the hands of the law enforcement authorities and other security actors operating at land, air, and sea borders, or participating in expulsions procedures – in particular, joint return flights.

The volume will be of key interest to students, scholars, and practitioners working on human rights, migration and borders, international law, European law and security studies, EU politics, and more broadly, international relations.

"This is a ground-breaking volume highlighting the importance of access to justice and the rule of law in immigration proceedings and the legal and human rights challenges which arise from the proliferation of border controls in Europe. It is essential reading for scholars and practitioners with an interest and expertise in immigration, administrative, constitutional and human rights law and their European dimension." – Valsamis Mitsilegas, Professor of European Criminal Law and Global Security and Deputy Dean for Global Engagement (Europe), at Queen Mary, University of London, UK

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Justicing Europe’s Frontiers: Effective access to justice in bordering and expulsion policies  PART I: Complaint Mechanisms in the Context of Border Controls and Expulsions at Land and Air Borders  1. Keeping up Appearances: Dubious legality and migration control at the peripheral borders of Europe. The cases of Ceuta and Melilla  2. Deportations without the Right to Complaint: Cases from Spain  3. Hungary at the Border of Populism and Asylum  4. Access to Effective Remedies for Foreigners affected by Decisions, Actions or Inactions of the Polish Border Guard  5. Human Rights Violations in Deportation Cases: Austrian law and reality  PART II: Complaint Mechanisms in the Context of Sea Borders and Maritime Surveillance  6. Police Accountability and Human Rights in Italy  7. Search and Rescue and Disembarkation in the Mediterranean  8. Border Management at the External Schengen Borders: Border controls, return operations and obstacles to effective remedies in Greece  9. A Practical Evaluation of Border Activities in Romania: Control, surveillance and expulsions  PART III: Justicing International, Regional and EU Standards  10. Complaint Mechanism during Return Flights: The European border and coast guard agency  11. Mechanisms to Prevent Pushbacks in the European Union  12. Human Rights Complaints at International Borders or during Expulsion Procedures: International, European and EU Standards