The International Protection of Refugees and Asylum Seekers: the Role of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights

This chapter examines aspects of the relevance of Article 3 to the protection of refugees and asylum seekers. This human rights guarantee has evolved through interpretation to include cases of deportation and the foreseeable consequences of return. The suggestion in this chapter is that the general discussion of Article 3 can occasionally be misleading; it cannot credibly be argued that the Court has now opened the gates of Europe to the oppressed of the world or that it has been thoughtless or irresponsible in its approach. Yes, Article 3 is &s;absolute&s; in the sense that no textual limitations are there and no derogations are permitted. The Court has nevertheless carefully and intentionally delimited the scope of protection; successfully establishing a &s;real risk&s; is not straightforward, and the interpretative battles fought across Europe are evident in the recent jurisprudence of the Court.