Transnational Migration Law

The course is offered as an optional course within the framework of the Swedish professional law degree program at the School of Business, Economics and Law at Gothenburg University.

It is also open for visiting foreign students participating in international exchange programmes.

(A1N)

To be admitted, students following a Swedish professional law programme leading up to a law degree must have passed courses adding up to 150 higher education credits from the first five semesters of the Swedish professional law programme, including the course HRO600 Internationell rätt (6th term). Students from other Swedish programmes or international students are required to possess a command of law analogous to 150 higher education credits from the Swedish professional law programme. Exceptions from these requirements can be made for students with a masters’ degree in Law from other universities.

The course is designed to produce critical practitioners and practical critics. Course content is selected to promote the concrete application of legal rules and the ability to explain legal-political developments from an overarching perspective.

Within the framework of the course, basic knowledge on rules governing on international protection, labour immigration and family reunification in international and EU law is taught. We shall also touch upon domestic legal systems to show how domestic, European and international norms impact each other. Wherever relevant, rules on border control, human rights, fundamental rights as well as procedural rules and principles also form part of the course. The different types of experiences by migrants and factors impacting on migration are also part of the course offer, such as nationality, age, gender, socioeconomic resources and ethnicity.

Transnational migration law is also thematized as a field of research, where theoretical and interdisciplinary resources for practical legal work take centre court.

The course thematizes transnational migration law in three situations:

1. At the border. The focus is on the capability to understand and represent the single migrants’ legal position at a territorial or administrative border. 
2. In the courtroom. The focus is on the capability to understand and represent transnational migration law in the pursuit of legal procedures before authorities and courts.
3. In the boardroom. The focus is on the capability to understand and represent transnational migration law for the pursuit of legal policy goals or strategical goals. 

Language of instruction: English

On successful completion of the course the student will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

1. explain and reflect on a selection of perspectives, principles and concepts that are central to this field of study,

2. apply the law, analyse legislation and case law within European and international bodies of law relevant for the issue of immigration to the EU,

3. show in-depth knowledge of the interplay of international, European and domestic law in the field,

Competence and skills

4. identify legal problems related to international, European and domestic migration law,

5. independently apply migration law rules and principles in concrete situations, both orally and in writing,

6. instruct others on migration law norms in a correct, simple and accessible manner,

Judgement and approach

7. analyse legal norms critically, assuming different positions and perspectives with support in relevant theories, and

8. reflect on which ethical norms and dilemmas a practitioner of law might encounter in the field of migration law.

Teaching activities offered within the course are as follows:

• Lectures and seminars
• Guest lectures and research presentations
• A student logbook
• Peer response, scholarly conversations and an opposition seminar for the thesis
• Thesis writing

Elements of examination

The achievement of learning outcomes will be over the entire course. The examination includes the following elements:

**Digital logbook reflection task **(learning outcomes 7-8)

(Modul 0010, 1 hec, Grade U/G)

By maintaining a digital logbook over study visits and guest lectures, students are to reflect on the application of migration law and identify the dilemmas of the legal profession as they express themselves during study visits and guest lectures. Work on the logbook is individual. The logbook supports oral discussions in lectures or seminars following the study visit or guest lecture, as the case may be. The logbook is graded with either Pass or Fail.

Legal information (learning outcome 1–6)

(Modul 0011, 1 hec, Grade U/G)

Students shall apply and demonstrate their legal knowledge by explaining a legal rule or the application of a rule in a simple, accessible and correct manner, directed at an audience without legal training. This short oral presentation with visual support is obligatory. It is graded by either Pass or Fail. If the student is absent at the presentation seminar, he or she will need to perform compensatory tasks as decided by the examiner.

Individual thesis (learning outcome 1–6) 

(Modul 0012, 8 hec, Grade AB-U) 

The individual thesis is part of the academic course work and provides an opportunity for the student to acquire in-depth knowledge within the field of migration law, analyse how theory, method and application relate to each other and reflect on how issues of migration law require knowledge from other scholarly disciplines and actualize overarching questions of law and politics or ideology critique. The task of thesis writing also provides knowledge on how we write, discuss and constructively critique scholarly texts. The thesis writing task also includes the following three obligatory elements:

• A scholarly conversation on the theme and core idea of the thesis with one of the teachers of the course,
• Peer response, with one student commenting on another student’s articulated core idea for the thesis, and
• An obligatory opposition on the thesis of another student.

When grading the essay, examiners are making use of the entire grading scale.

If a student has received the grade of Fail twice for the same examination component and wishes to change the examiner ahead of the next examination session, he or she shall make such a request to the department in writing. It should be approved by the department unless there are special reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6 Section 22 of the Higher Education Ordinance).

If a student has received a certificate of disability study support from the University of Gothenburg with a recommendation of adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment, an examiner may decide, if this is consistent with the course’s intended learning outcomes and provided that no unreasonable resources would be needed, to grant the student adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment.

If a course has ceased to be offered or undergone major changes, students are guaranteed at least three examination sessions (including the ordinary examination session) over a period of at least one year, but no more than two years after the course has ceased to be offered or undergone major changes.

If a student has been notified that they fulfil the requirements for being a student at Riksidrottsuniversitetet (RIU student), to combine elite sports activities with studies, the examiner is entitled to decide on adaptation of examinations if this is done in accordance with the Local rules regarding RIU students at the University of Gothenburg.

The grading scale comprises the following grades: Passed with Distinction (AB), Passed with Credit (BA), Pass (B) and Fail (U).

The Department of Law is obliged to evaluate the courses given. This is done by an appraisal in accordance with general instructions within the department. All course appraisals are scrutinized by the board of education within the department. A student assisting in the collection of an appraisal will receive remuneration according to standard tariff. The results of and possible changes to the course will be shared with students who participated in the evaluation and students who are starting the course.

The results of and possible changes to the course will be shared with students who participated in the evaluation and students who are starting the course.

Further study directions will be given in conjunction with the start of the course. A computer and internet access are needed to participate in the course.