Turning Back the Boats': Australia's Interdiction of Irregular Migrants at Sea

(2015) 27 (4) International Journal of Refugee Law 536-572

Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Andreas Schloenhardt

Andreas Schloenhardt

The University of Queensland - T.C. Beirne School of Law

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2015

Abstract

At the end of 2013, the Australian Government reintroduced a policy to turn around or tow back vessels carrying irregular migrants, many of them asylum seekers. This policy is designed to prevent their arrival in Australia and return them to the place from where the vessels departed. A similar policy was in operation in late 2001 when, in the aftermath of the so-called ‘Tampa Affair’, four vessels were returned to Indonesia. This article examines the context, objectives, and controversies of this policy and explores the known successful and attempted ‘turn-backs’. The article critically evaluates the rationale and operation of the past and present policies and reflects on the question of whether to retain or repeal this approach.

JEL Classification: K00

Suggested Citation

Schloenhardt, Andreas, Turning Back the Boats': Australia's Interdiction of Irregular Migrants at Sea (2015). (2015) 27 (4) International Journal of Refugee Law 536-572 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2766812

Andreas Schloenhardt (Contact Author)

The University of Queensland - T.C. Beirne School of Law ( email )

The University of Queensland
St Lucia
4072 Brisbane, Queensland 4072
Australia

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
290
PlumX Metrics