asylum

Rights in Exile Programme

This website brings together resources to assist lawyers who are representing refugees. The Rights in Exile Programme is run by lawyers and experts in human rights and immigration issues. The site provides access to a range of resources including the UNHCR Protection Manual, contact details of pro bono organisations arranged by country, country of origin information experts and online sources of international case law. There are also resources aimed at refugees including self-help kits to assist with writing Refugee Status Determination Interview statements.

European Database of Asylum Law

The European Database of Asylum Law (EDAL) is maintained by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and provides access to case law from 19 EU Member States interpreting refugee and asylum law as well as cases from the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. The database can be searched by keyword and filtered by date, country of applicate, country of decision or case type. Cases are provided as summaries with full text where available.

Asylum Information Database

The Asylum Information Database (AIDA) is compiled by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and contains information on asylum issues in 20 countries (17 EU countries and 3 non-EU countries). There are country reports detailing asylum procedures, reception conditions and detention of asylum seekers in countries covered by the database. There are also comparative reports which analyse practice relating to the implementation of asylum standards in these countries and AIDA Legal Briefings which address key issues in EU asylum law and policy.

World Refugee Day resources

Details of book chapters, journal articles and free web resources on the subject of refugee law. Sections cover issues such as ‘who is a refugee? ‘and ‘what rights do refugees have?’  Designed for people working with refugees and anyone interested in the framework of rights and obligations concerning refugees, the collection was offered free of charge from 2018 to 2019 by publisher OUP, but free full-text access is no longer available. 

Academic Network for Legal Studies in Immigration and Asylum in Europe (Odysseus Network)

The Odysseus Network conducts comparative academic research into the immigration and asylum law of the EU and its member states. It was set up with the financial support of the European Commission's Odysseus programme and is based at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. The website describes the work of the Network and provides the contents pages of its publications, or links to the full text. Information is also given about its summer schools, and all the Network’s annual reports are available in full. English and French versions of the site are available.

Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC)

The OISC is an independent UK non-departmental public body, set up under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. It regulates the provision of immigration advice and other immigration services. The OISC has information about finding a regulated immigration adviser and qualifying or working as a regulated immigration adviser. It also provides guidance for those who want to complain about an adviser. OISC publications are available on the site, including guidance notes, framework documents, practice notes, position papers and annual reports.

ecoi: European Country of Origin Network

Collection of country-of-origin information intended for use by lawyers and others involved in asylum claims, provided by a department of the Austrian Red Cross. Ecoi.net has a page for each country of the world; each page provides key reports and other documents, national laws translated into English, maps and links to country profiles (by the UN, CIA, BBC and so on). Basic and advanced search facilities are available. The site also includes a blog.

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