Although the Right to Leave and Return (RLR) is a fundamental human right, each State has the sovereign right to regulate RLR in accordance with its own laws. In the case of China, the country’s communist political system has significantly affected the development of RLR and the country’s approach to it. As a rule, China’s approach is restrictive. As part of its reform and ‘opening up’ policies, China has embarked on a range of reforms to liberalise RLR, but the reforms lack cohesion and focus, and remain restrictive. Given its past and its complex social and economic conditions, China may have some justifications for its approach, but on balance, has more to gain from adopting a more liberal approach. The issue of RLR in China is crucial both for the future of China, and for development of RLR in the world. The Right to Leave and Return (RLR) and Chinese Migration Law provides a comprehensive and systematic review of the RLR in international and Chinese migration law. It has been written on the basis of Chinese statutes pertinent to the RLR, also of relevant international instruments and key cases. It investigates RLR in international migration law and practice; analyses RLR in the context of China, and identifies its driving factors; investigates the conditions and practical concerns relevant to the protection of RLR; and concludes with recommendations on how the Chinese regulatory regime governing RLR can be improved.

Hövell.

The contributions collected in the present book go beyond refugee law in its traditional sense - largely centred on questions of durable asylum and the plight of only a small tranche of the asylum-seeking population - in situating refugee law within the broader international legal system. The refugee problem is thus seen as a prism through which a host of exploding issues confront traditional international law and international relations: creation and dissolution of states, state responsibility, human rights, international jurisdiction and the United Nations mandate. These theoretical problems and their legal incidence on the refugee condition are debated against the background of UNHCR field operations in Former Yugoslavia, Africa and Eastern Europe. The contributions were originally presented at a Colloquium held in May 1994, organised by the Graduate Institute of International Studies in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Refugee law experts, members of the UN International Law Commission and practitioners were brought together in a dialogue between scholars and practitioners on a major and exponentially growing international problem.

This Handbook draws together leading and emerging scholars to provide a comprehensive critical analysis of international refugee law. This book provides an account as well as a critique of the status quo, setting the agenda for future research in the field.