A Topographical Approach to Accountability for Human Rights Violations in Migration Control. Issue 3 (April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tan, Nikolas Feith; Gammeltoft-Hansen, Thomas
• Is Part Of: German law journal. Volume 21:Issue 3(2020)
• Page Start: 335
• Page End: 354
• Publication Date: 2020-04
• Subjects: Asylum, -- accountability, -- migration control, -- strategic litigation, -- human rights; Law -- Germany -- Periodicals; Law -- Europe -- Periodicals; Comparative law -- Periodicals; International law -- Periodicals; jurisprudence; 349.4
• DOI: 10.1017/glj.2020.31
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2071-8322

Abstract

Abstract: This Article develops what we call a "topographical approach" to accountability in migration control. Drawing on different strands of scholarship, including legal geography, "legal black holes, " and work on strategic litigation, we approach accountability by perceiving the site of a violation from a bird's-eye view and mapping different accountability structures across diverse legal regimes and via a broadened geographic lens. Rather than advocating for accountability in regard to particular regimes or jurisdictions, we argue that multi-pronged approaches are likely to remain the best starting point for ensuring accountability for human rights violations in the context of current migration control practices. The topographical approach thus offers a general framework for identifying existing blind spots, critically assessing existing trajectories, as well as exploring the wider grid of potential accountability mechanisms.