The International Law of Migrant Smuggling

This companion volume to The International Law of Human Trafficking presents the first-ever comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the international law of migrant smuggling.

Anne T. Gallagher (Author), Fiona David (Author)

9781316507483, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 January 2016

840 pages, 1 b/w illus. 8 tables
22.8 x 15.3 x 4.5 cm, 1.2 kg

'In the history of the human rights movement, most marginalized persons have been able to fight for their rights from the standpoint of citizenship: they were claiming equal treatment as citizens. By definition, irregular migrants will never access the political stage and therefore can only count on the rule of law and human rights guarantees: making this accessible to them is an enormous challenge. Through a particularly thorough analysis of the available international legal sources, Anne Gallagher and Fiona David create a detailed portrait of the irregular migrant as a rights-holder. This volume will be a valuable guide for years to come.' François Crépeau, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants and Professor of Public International Law, McGill University

Whether forced into relocation by fear of persecution, civil war, or humanitarian crisis, or pulled toward the prospect of better economic opportunities, more people are on the move than ever before. Opportunities for lawful entry into preferred destinations are decreasing rapidly, creating demand that is increasingly being met by migrant smugglers. This companion volume to the award-winning The International Law of Human Trafficking presents the first-ever comprehensive, in-depth analysis into the subject. The authors call on their experience of working with the UN to chart the development of new international laws and to link these specialist rules to other relevant areas of international law, including law of the sea, human rights law, and international refugee law. Through this analysis, the authors explain the major legal obligations of States with respect to migrant smuggling, including those related to criminalization, interdiction and rescue at sea, protection, prevention, detention, and return.

1. The legal framework: transnational crime, law of the sea, and migration control
2. The legal framework: human rights and refugee law
3. Acting against migrant smuggling: capacities and limitations
4. State responsibility and migrant smuggling
5. Criminalization of migrant smuggling
6. Migrant smuggling by sea: interdiction and rescue
7. Prevention and international cooperation to combat migrant smuggling
8. Obligations of protection, assistance, and response
9. Obligations relating to detention of smuggled migrants
10. Return of smuggled migrants.

Subject Areas: International human rights law [LBBR], Public international law [LBB], Law [L]