This handbook provides an overview of the law applicable to asylum, border management and immigration in relation to European Union (EU) law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It looks at the situation of those foreigners to whom the EU usually refers as third-country nationals, although that distinction is not relevant to cited ECHR law.
European Union: European Agency for Fundamental Rights, Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Handbook on European law relating to asylum, borders and immigration, 17 December 2020, https://www.refworld.org/reference/manuals/eufra/2020/123428 [accessed 30 April 2026]
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Asylum and international protection in the EU: strengthening cooperation and solidarity, January 2014, https://www.refworld.org/policy/polrec/unhcr/2014/96898 [accessed 30 April 2026]
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Beyond Proof, Credibility Assessment in EU Asylum Systems : Full Report, May 2013, https://www.refworld.org/reference/regionalreport/unhcr/2013/104283 [accessed 30 April 2026]
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Safe at Last? Law and Practice in Selected EU Member States with Respect to Asylum-Seekers Fleeing Indiscriminate Violence, 27 July 2011, https://www.refworld.org/reference/regionalreport/unhcr/2011/80324 [accessed 30 April 2026]
This research represents the most comprehensive publicly-available comparative analysis of asylum procedure law and practice undertaken since the Asylum Procedures Directive’s (APD) adoption. The research addressed 18 articles of the APD, as they are transposed in law and implemented in practice in the twelve participating states. This document presents detailed research on the key provisions as identified in APD.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Improving Asylum Procedures: Comparative Analysis and Recommendations for Law and Practice - Detailed Research on Key Asylum Procedures Directive Provisions, March 2010, https://www.refworld.org/reference/research/unhcr/2010/92087 [accessed 30 April 2026]
A central objective of this research is to shed some light on the extent to which the Qualification Directive is achieving its aims. The research focused on practice in five Member States (France, Germany, Greece, the Slovak Republic and Sweden) following the 10 October 2006 deadline for implementation of the Directive. In particular, the research seeks to highlight: the degree of consistency (or lack of it) in the approach taken by the selected Member States to specific issues; good practices; and problems, including in terms of compatibility of State legislation and practice with international standards.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Asylum in the European Union: A Study of the Implementation of the Qualification Directive, November 2007, https://www.refworld.org/reference/regionalreport/unhcr/2007/49828 [accessed 30 April 2026]
