Evolutions in International Refugee Law

On the occasion of Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen’s appointment as professor with special responsibilities in migration and refugee law as of 1 December 2018, you are hereby invited to his inaugural lecture.

The refugee is a prime example of an ‘orphan issue’ in international law. The refugee regime was never endowed with an international court or monitoring body similar to other human rights treaties. Since the end of the Cold War, few states have further shown serious interest in championing refugee rights. Nonetheless, international refugee law has continued to see significant developments during past decades, impacting interpretation of not only who qualifies for refugee protection, but also the geographical application of core rights.

In this talk, Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen looks to social and legal evolutionary theory to help explain how even orphan issues in international law are continuously shaped, interpreted and applied through interactions with and in response to their legal and political surroundings. Taking stock of both past and current approaches to legal evolution the talk will attempt to outline the core tenets of a research agenda for the MSO professorship in migration and refugee law.

Time: 12 April 2019 , 14:00 – 15:00 followed by a reception

Place: The Søren Kierkegaard Auditorium , 9A-0-01, Njalsgade 76, DK-2300 Copenhagen S

Programme and registration