Obligations of States towards Asylum Seekers at Sea: Interactions and Conflicts Between Legal Regimes

Abstract

This article examines the law relating to asylum seekers rescued at sea, and analyses the scope of the protection offered by existing international legal standards. Both the obligations placed upon states, and the rights afforded to states, in Maritime, Refugee, Human Rights and general international law are discussed and the balance between them is also considered. The author argues that a Refugee Status Determination obligation obliges states to conduct refugee status determination for asylum seekers rescued in territorial waters. This is supplemented by the non‐refoulement obligation which applies in other parts of the ocean. However, it is found that some of the rights conferred on states by the law of sea can serve to undermine the comprehensiveness of this protection.

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