The Global Reach of European Refugee Law

Explores the extent to which European legal norms of refugee protection have been emulated in other parts of the world, identifies the processes, and assesses the implications of these trends. It will contribute to debates on the diffusion of law and the role of the EU as a normative power.

Europe has the most advanced regional protection regime in the world. The predicted impact of this body of norms, including the new Common European Asylum System, has been widely identified as one that will have a ''ripple effect'' beyond the EU. However, very few studies have noted the fact that this regime has already influenced the law and practice of states around the world, for some time. The purpose of this book is to gather evidence that emulation is happening (if it is), to explore the extent and identify the processes through which it is happening, and to examine the implications of these findings. A review of seven case studies reveals all but one of these cases provides clear evidence of emulation at some point in time. The EU protection regime, which has been most influenced by the European Court of Human Rights, is ''naturally'' evolving transnationally and spreading internationally.