The EU legislation on asylum and its implications for international criminal law: from the Dublin Convention to the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

Book chapter

Pecorella, G. 2026. The EU legislation on asylum and its implications for international criminal law: from the Dublin Convention to the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. in: Routledge Handbook of International Refugee Law Routledge.
Chapter titleThe EU legislation on asylum and its implications for international criminal law: from the Dublin Convention to the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum
AuthorsPecorella, G.
Abstract

This chapter examines the EU legal framework governing the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and its interaction with international criminal law, with particular attention to recent reforms under the 2024 EU Pact on Migration and Asylum (hereafter the Pact), due to enter into force on 1 July 2026. It combines doctrinal analysis of EU legislation with an assessment of relevant case law.

The chapter concludes that EU asylum legislation has remained largely consistent with the Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. The 2024 Qualification Regulation (QR) may finally provide a uniform application of principles set out by the Convention among the EU member states. At the same time, a growing reliance on international criminal law, in particular on understandings of customary international law as reflected in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, may expand the practical reach of exclusion from international protection. Finally, the chapter explores the significance of the explicit reference to international human rights standards in Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, arguing that this development has the potential to recalibrate the relationship between asylum law and international criminal justice by strengthening procedural safeguards and enabling closer scrutiny of the human rights compliance of ICC proceedings.

KeywordsEU asylum; EU Pact on Migration and Asylum; Qualification Regulation; Refugee Convention; International Criminal Law; exclusion clause
Sustainable Development Goals16 Peace, justice and strong institutions
Middlesex University ThemeSustainability
Research GroupPeace, Justice and International Law
Book titleRoutledge Handbook of International Refugee Law
PublisherRoutledge
Publication process dates
AcceptedMay 2026
Deposited22 Sep 2026
Output statusAccepted
Accepted author manuscript
File Access Level
Open
LanguageEnglish
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