EU asylum offshoring: an analysis of the limits imposed by European Human Rights Standards. Can the European Union copy Australia in the offshoring of the asylum function?

Abstract

In this paper I analyse the externalization of asylum by means of the establishment of processing centres outside the EU from a comparative legal approach. In light of the EU‟s recent steps towards offshoring, I study the limits of this practice within the European asylum acquis. Looking at Australia as a reference, given its existing offshoring program, I analyse the European asylum law, more precisely the rulings of the ECtHR, which have shaped the protection of refugees and asylum seekers in Europe. This comparison lays down the limits the EU will find in their aim to replicate the Australian offshoring, which are mainly the notion of jurisdiction, the principle of non-refoulement, and law surrounding detention.