When humans become migrants

Episode 25: The stateless of Europe

All through the summer, the immediate needs of the unprecedented number of refugees arriving in Europe has held the media spotlight. We should not forget, however, that long term migrants can also face great difficulties. This episode draws attention to the plight of people who live in Europe without enjoying any status in law. …

Episode 24: Vainly knocking on the shut doors of Strasbourg

When a door is firmly shut, getting it to open can be very difficult. This image is useful to understand the effect of a finding by the European Court of Human Rights that a provision of the European Convention on Human Rights is either not applicable or not violated. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/07/hrm24_shutting_the_strasbourg_doors-1vsigvm.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems with…

Episode 23: When the Strasbourg doors are shut (Maaouia)

Lawyers like to discuss cases that offer openings and avenues of redress, but one cannot assess the benefits of the Strasbourg system without also considering its failures. This episode focuses on Maaouia v. France. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/07/hrm23_when_the_strasbourg_doors_shut-2kwwzbj.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems with the embedded player use this link to listen). Maaouia established that immigration decisions were not…

Episode 22: Why MSS is so important

Episode 21 explained what happened in the case of MSS, but we still need to discuss why the case is so important. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/06/hrm22_why_mss_is_so_important-27bti8j.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems with the embedded player use this link to listen). One point is that it triggered a revision of the so-called ‘Dublin regulation’. Another is that migrants often lose…

Episode 21: MSS sees Belgium and Greece condemned

In the sea of Strasbourg losses for migrants, MSS stands out as a resounding victory, which we start exploring in this episode. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/06/hrm21_being-transferred_from_belgium_to_greece-1x88fk7.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems with the embedded player use this link to listen). The applicant was an Afghani national who had worked for the Allied forces. Fearing for his life, he left his country….

Episode 20: Tabitha’s story

It would be wrong to think that the European Court of Human Rights is incapable of finding immigration detention in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. For example, when a lone five year old was kept in a detention centre in Belgium for two months, the Court found violation after violation of the…

Episode nineteen: Immigration detention not to be resorted to lightly

In this episode, I discuss the judgment of the Inter-American Court in the case of Vélez Loor v. Panama. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/06/HRM19-Immigration-detention-The-Inter-American-Courts-take-1n0daf9.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems with the embedded player use this link to listen). The victim was a migrant who had been caught inexplicably wandering in the jungle by the Panamanian police. He was detained. At some stage,…

Episode eighteen: Is a convergence between the Inter-American and European Courts of Human Rights in sight?

At this stage in the series, you probably have gained some understanding about the way the two courts operate. Both have the same task of applying human rights conventions, especially in cases brought by individuals. However, they work rather differently. In this podcast, I contemplate the possibility that they may converge more in the future….

Episode seventeen: What effects do we want human rights judgments to have?

If a human rights court knows that a state is going to resist a ruling of violation, should the court refrain from insisting that human rights have been violated and from ordering that the state change its ways? This episode contrasts how the Inter-American and European Courts approach this question. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/05/hrm17_what_effects_do_judgments_have-1p6506z.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems…

Episode sixteen: The Inter-American Court is ready to stand up against states

In this episode I continue my exploration of the approach taken by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In particular I focus upon the Yean and Bosico case which concerned two (unrelated) children of Haitian descent who were born in the Dominican Republic. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/05/hrm16_haitians_in_the_dominican_republic-1iscjps.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems with the embedded player use this link…