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

You may register for this course if you have admission to a Master’s programme at UiO or the faculty's exchange programme. You can also register for this course if you do not have admission to any programme at UiO, but meet the formal prerequistites.

All students are required meet the formal prerequistites.

Have you met the formal prerequisites at another institution than the University of Oslo, and the results are not formally registered at UiO, you must apply for admission to courses at Master’s level . Students with admission to Master’s degree programmes at other faculties than The Faculty of Law must also apply for admission.

When your admission is in order you must register for courses in StudentWeb

Prerequisites

Formal prerequisite knowledge

Students must fill one of these requirements:

  • Passed 1st - 3rd year of the 5-years degree Master of Laws (Master i rettsvitenskap at UiO) (or exams that qualify for exemption for these) or
  • Hold a 5-years Master’s degree in Laws (Master i rettsvitenskap at UiO) or equivalent.

Exemptions from the formal prerequisites will be given to students with admission to the faculty's own exchange or master’s degree programmes. This rule does not apply to students with admission to other master’s degree programmes at the University of Oslo, unless otherwise agreed.

Recommended previous knowledge

Three years of law studies.

Overlapping courses

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 on master’s level and 3000 words on bachelor’s level.

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.

Previous exam papers

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 

This  guide is used by examiners for grading this course.

Explanations and appeals

Resit an examination

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 Master 's level. The subject is also taught at Bachelor's level (10 ECTS credits), see JUR1530 – Refugee and Asylum Law (BA).
Please see the chapter above, regarding overlap. For instances of overlap, credits will be deducted on the subject at Bachelors's level.

Facts about this course

Credits
10
Level
Master
Teaching
Every spring
Examination
Every spring
Teaching language
English

Contact

The Information Centre at The Faculty of Law