Critical International Migration Law
Learn Path Description
Look behind the headlines and discover the real reasons why people migrateThis ExpertTrack is designed for anyone interested in developing a critical understanding of migration crises, what causes them, and how the law is implicated in their construction. You’ll understand the who, what, and why of international migration, and the role of both international and domestic law in shaping the terrain. You’ll also gain an insight into the role of states in exercising their sovereign right to control their borders, and the impact their policies and laws have in closing off legal routes to migration for those desperate to flee to safety. Examine the complex laws and policies that inform migration law You’ll start by exploring how law and policies have served both to protect states’ borders, as well as create vulnerability for migrants fleeing from civil war, generalised violence, extreme poverty, and other widespread human rights violations. You’ll then engage in a critical evaluation of the human rights of migrants and ask whether international human rights law is truly universal. Evaluate the political and philosophical discourses around international migration The ExpertTrack will encourage you to critically examine law and its framing of the migrant experience. You’ll demonstrate a critical understanding of the main international treaties which relate to migration, and evaluate the political discourses attached to the concept of international migration. You’ll also explore the theoretical and interdisciplinary critiques of international migration law, and use legal materials to help formulate legal arguments concerning state practice. Learn with international migration law experts at Kent Law School Kent Law School is one of the UK’s leading law schools, offering a distinctive critical approach to their syllabuses, ultimately placing law within the wider context of society. With a recognised excellence in teaching, world-class research, and an award-winning law clinic, they provide an intellectually stimulating environment for studying law, human rights law and international migration law. Throughout the ExpertTrack, you’ll look beneath the surface of the law and study its complexity and contradictions, so that you finish with a deeper understanding and a wealth of new skills.
Skills You Will Gain
Courses In This Learning Path
Total Duration
4 weeks
Level
Beginner
Learn Type
Certifications
Law and the Framing of Migrants and Migration
Millions of people migrate each year due to violence, civil war, and other factors. Many are forced to flee their homes for safety or to seek out traffickers or smugglers who will make a living from their suffering.
This course will explore the history and reasons for migration. Next, it will examine the terminology used to describe migrants, and how it can impact narratives about migration.
While national laws govern migration, there are a number of international legal instruments that support them.
Is the law able to make a difference in modern migration's complex and intricate story? Does it exist to protect borders or people?
You will learn tools to critically analyze migration and be able to see the flaws in international migration law. Next, you will examine sovereignty and its relevance to migration.
How the media portrays migration has an enormous impact on how the public perceives it and how laws are made. It is important to understand how media influence the narrative surrounding migrants and how they are treated.
By analysing the media's portrayals of migrants and how they cover migration-related stories, you will be able to assess their role in law, public opinion and migration.
This course will guide you through a critical analysis of migrants as threats. It will also lead you to a discussion about what the concept of migration crises means. You'll use the tools that you have developed to begin to criticize the notion of migration crisis, its formation, and the effect it has on migration and migrants.
You can see some of the steps in this course before you sign up.
Total Duration
4 weeks
Level
Intermediate
Learn Type
Certifications
Freedom of Movement, Refugees, Traffickers, and Smugglers
It is up to chance where we were born and what borders we can cross. While some people can move anywhere in the world due to their nationality, others may be restricted by it.
This course will examine the complex web of laws and policies that govern human migration in 21st century. It also explores the tension between national sovereignty and international legal obligations.
You'll be exploring tensions between the right of freedom of movement, and the sovereign rights to control borders.
The Refugee Convention will then be examined. It will help you identify what constitutes a refugee, and provide protections for refugees. This will allow you to evaluate the Convention's strengths and weaknesses in relation to 21st century migration.
Border controls of the destination state are frequently implemented in the state of origin, or on the high seas far away from the borders of destination countries. This prevents travelers from leaving their country and even reaching the destination country's border.
This course will examine how the anti-trafficking treaties and the antismuggling treaties help to strengthen border controls and make migrants more vulnerable to violence and persecution.
Total Duration
4 weeks
Level
Beginner
Learn Type
Certifications
Law's Absence and Law's Failings
For those fleeing persecution, civil war, or environmental disasters, securitization and militarisation at the border can have devastating consequences.
This course will examine the failures of the law to protect vulnerable migrants. In the areas of internally displaced people and environmentally displaced persons, you'll examine the gaps in the law.
Many countries have taken great measures to stop people fleeing their territory. Migrants can get stuck and cannot leave their country or return to their home countries. They are internally displaced.
We'll discuss the so-called right of remaining, its consequences and whether the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement are effective in addressing the problems faced internally displaced persons.
People are being forced to flee because of climate change and other environmental disasters. Climate migrants who cross national borders will not be granted refugee status as they do not meet the Refugee Convention's definition. Consider whether a treaty is necessary for climate migrants or if law is sufficient.
There are very few legal pathways to migration for people fleeing violence, civil war, persecution, etc. Migrants are forced to cross borders by covert means, and they won't be legally present in the country where they live. This article will assess the vulnerability of undocumented migrants, and the effectiveness of human rights law to protect them.
