Martin Westlund

About Martin Westlund

Martin Westlund is a Postdoctoral Researcher in European Law at the School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg. He completed his PhD in November 2025 with the dissertation The Role of the Judicial Branch in EU Migration Law: A Separation of Powers Perspective. The dissertation adopts a relational understanding of the separation of powers and examines how cooperation and conflict between EU institutions shape the balance of power in migration law. Through case-law analysis and a quantitative study of the migration case law, it shows that the Court often exercises restraint and argues that a stronger supervisory role is needed when executive actors challenge fundamental democratic and rule of law principles.

Martin's research focuses on European migration law and constitutional law, with particular interests in the separation of powers, democracy, and fundamental rights. As a postdoctoral researcher, he examines how the EU Migration and Asylum Pact reshapes the relationship between the Union and its Member States and what consequences these reforms have for the right to seek asylum in Europe. His current research focuses on the new crisis rules, the externalisation of migration control, and the use of artificial intelligence in border management and asylum procedures. His postdoctoral project is funded by the Foundation for Legal Research (Stiftelsen för rättsvetenskaplig forskning). He has also participated in the Horizon Europe project Human Rights Justifications (HRJust), where he researched the role of human rights in European migration policy.

Martin teaches migration law and EU law in the Law Programme and courses on European integration, globalisation, and migration in the European Studies Programme.