JUR1530 – Refugee and Asylum Law (BA)
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
Refugee and Asylum Law addresses forced migration and the role of law in determining the need for international protection within determination proceedings. Students will study the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and related international human rights instruments, including the UN Convention against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984). Forced migration is increasing due to global inequality, climate change, war and other trends. The approach of national and regional state and non-state actors towards evolving (in expansive or restrictive manners) the interpretation of protection standards requires legal analysis. Ethical concerns and gendered protection perspectives are specifically analyzed. Students are able to engage in group presentations of cases throughout the semester and conduct a case analysis in the final exam.
Learning outcome
Students will learn how to conduct a refugee status determination pursuant to the definition of a refugee contained within the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and regional instruments. The principal aspects of inclusion, exclusion, cessation and non-refoulement criteria will be addressed. Students will be expected to demonstrate critical thinking in evaluating the reasoning and conclusions of national and international judges contained in case law.
Admission
Students who are admitted to study programmes or individual courses at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for by registering a study plan in StudentWeb.
International applicants, if you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information
about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.
Nordic applicants that are accepted to study programmes or individual courses at UiO can be admitted to this course.
Prerequisites
Recommended previous knowledge
Please note that lectures and curriculum for this course is aimed at students at master degree level.
However, the achievement requirements are adjusted for students who take the subject at bachelor degree level.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with JUR5530 – Refugee and Asylum Law (discontinued)
- 10 credits overlap with VALFLYKT – Flyktninge- og asylrett (discontinued)
- 10 credits overlap with JUXFLYKT – Flyktninge- og asylrett (discontinued)
- 10 credits overlap with JUTREFAS – Refugee and Asylum Law (discontinued)
- 10 credits overlap with PILREFAS – Refugee and Asylum Law (discontinued)
- 10 credits overlap with JUVOFLYKT
- 10 credits overlap with JUS5530 – Refugee and Asylum Law
Teaching
Lectures/seminars.
Language of teaching for this course is English. This means that all
communication during lectures/seminars will be in English, and all
literature and auxiliary materials are in English.
Examination
In the spring semester 2024, the exam will be a 24 hour home exam, maximum 3000 words.
Footnotes should be included in the word count of the main text. Not included in this count: front page (title etc.), summary, table of contents and references (bibliography). (If relevant for the paper).
Assignments/papers with text exceeding the word limit will not be accepted.
Examination support material
This is an open book exam. Candidates may therefore make use of all available sources during the examination period.
Your exam paper must be an independent work. Exam candidates are not permitted to communicate with other persons about the exam question(s) or distribute draft answers or exam answers.
General rules on exam support materials
Use of sources and rules for citing
Familiarize yourself with the use of sources and citations in legal writing. In an exam situation, using other people’s material without declaring it in a clear manner may be considered cheating or an attempt at cheating. You must cite any sources you draw on.
If you break the rules, you may be suspected of cheating or attempted cheating.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Marking criteria for written examination
This guide is used by examiners for grading elective courses at the Faculty of Law.
Explanations and appeals
Resit an examination
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Resitting an examination.
- There are special rules for resitting a passed examination in the master's programme in Law.
Withdrawal from an examination
It is possible to take this exam up to 3 times. If you withdraw from the exam after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
There are special rules for resitting a passed examination in the master's programme in Law.
Special examination arrangements
Application form, deadline and requirements for special examination arrangements.
Evaluation
The course is subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students to participate in a more comprehensive evaluation.
Other
The language for this course is English. Students enrolled in the
Masterprogrammet i rettsvitenskap must pass one
English subject as part of their degree, this course will meet these
obligations.
This subject is taught at Bachelor's level. The subject is also taught at Master's level (10 ECTS credits), see JUS5530 – Refugee and Asylum Law
Please see the chapter above, regarding overlap. For instances of overlap, credits will be deducted on the subject at Bachelors's level.