Refugee Law in Context: The Exclusion Clause

Both the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly indicate those asylum seekers who should be excluded from refugee status, excluded from asylum. The refugee lawyer, in order to fully appreciate the importance and relevance of this principle, needs to look beyond refugee law proper. The insight needed for the decision whether or not to apply the so-called 'exclusion clause' is to be found elsewhere within the realms of international law: international humanitarian law, international criminal law and United Nations law. In this publication, contributors pay ample attention to developments in these related fields. Complemented with a wealth of relevant materials, including informative treaties, conventions and (draft-)resolutions on these very themes, this book is an indispensable guide for all those involved with asylum seekers, refugees and the upholding of the principles of refugee law. This collection amounts to a true Article 1F Handbook.

Table of Contents:
Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Article 1F, an overview; 1.1 International instruments; 1.2 UNHCR documents; 1.3 European instruments; 1.4 Literature; 'loss and denial of refugee status and its benefits', chapter 3 of: The Refugee in International Law, Clarendon Press (2nd ed. 1996) pp. 95-114 Guy S. Goodwin-Gill; 2. Article 1F(a), crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity; 2.1 Literature; introduction to international humanitarian law and the qualification of armed conflicts Avril McDonald; Crimes against humanity under the Rome statute Herman von Hebel; Individual criminal responsibility for violations of international humanitarian law William Fenrick; 'Prosecuting the leaders' ('the application of the doctrine of superior responsibility before the UN ICTs for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda'), in: Netherlands Annual Review of Military Studies (1998) pp. 109-130 Rodney Dixon; International Committee of the Red Cross statement on impunity (1 April 1998); 2.2 International instruments; 3. Article 1F(b), serious non-political crimes; 3.1 Literature; The political offence exception in extradition law Nico Keijzer; Additional comments Peter J. van Krieken; 'Introduction', in International Law Documents Relating to Terrorism, Oxford (2nd ed., 1997) pp. xix-xxii Omer Y. Elagab; 'The problem of international terrorism and the response of international organizations', in Terrorism and Hostages in International Law, Grotius (1992) excerpts Joseph J. Lambert; 3.2 International instruments; 3.3 European instruments; 4. Art. 1F(c), purposes and principles of the UN; 4.1 Literature; Interpreting the principles and purposes of the United Nations Nico J. Schrijver; 'Article 1: Purposes', in: Simma, Bruno (ed.), The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary, Oxford (1995) pp. 49-56 Rüdiger Wolfrum; 'Article 2: Principles', in: Simma, Bruno (ed.), The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary, Oxford (1995) pp. 72-76 Albrecht Randelzhofer; 'Self-determination and the use of force', in Akehurst's Modern Introduction to International Law (1996) pp. 326-341 Peter Malanczuk; 4.2 International instruments; 5. Implementation challenges; 5.1 Canada; Canada's approach towards exclusion ground 1F Gerry Van Kessel; 5.2 France; Purposes and principles of the United Nations: The way in which France applies Article 1F(c) Nicole Michel; 5.3 The Netherlands; State Secretary of Justice, note on Article 1F to parliament (1997); 5.4 USA; The serious non-political crime bar (The United States Supreme Court decision in INS v. Aguirre-Aguirre) Kelly Ryan; Selected bibliography; Contributors.

About the Author :
The editor, with almost 20 years experience with UNHCR, is presently lecturing in international law and human rights at Webster University, Leiden, and serves as special advisor for international affairs with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service of the Netherlands Ministry of Justice.