Asylum

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Neha Singh gives an overview on Asylum. 

The word “asylum” means “protection or safety especially that is given by a government to people who have been forced to leave their country for safety or because of war.”

The Institute Of International Law has defined asylum as “the protection which the state grants on its own territory or in some of her place under the control of certain of its organs to a person who comes to seek it.”

When we define asylum in a very simple words it means when any person belonging to another country ask for protection from another country to save him from any kind of mob anger or political action and give him shelter under the territory is called asylum.

It includes two essentials:

  1. A shelter which is more than a temporary refuge
  2. A degree of active prosecution on the part of the authorities which have control over the territory of asylum.

Asylum is of two types:

  1. Territorial Asylum
  2. Extra-Territorial / Diplomatic Asylum

Let’s get deep into the discussion about territorial asylum. Territorial asylum is granted by a state in its own territory and is considered as an attribute of the territorial sovereignty of the state. It is the own will and wish of state to whether or not to give asylum to the person. There is nothing illegal in providing asylum to person until and unless man conspires against the country of his birth.

Now discussing about the second type of asylum is Extra-Territorial/Diplomatic Asylum. Extra -territorial asylum is granted by the state outside its territory,e.g., its embassy or public vessels. Extra-territorial asylum may be classified and discussed under the following heads:-

  1. Asylum in Foreign Embassies
  2. Asylum in Consular Premises
  3. Asylum in the premises of International Institutions
  4. Asylum in War Ships
  5. Asylum in Merchant Vessels

FOR EXAMPLE:

  1. Dalai Lama and his Tibetan followers –

When Dalai Lama asked for asylum from the Indian government, asylum was granted to him and his Tibetan followers.  When Indian government did that it was an indication of territorial sovereignty of India. China made great hue and cry over the issue that India is interfering in the internal matters of china but India as a sovereign state was within her right to grant asylum.

  1. Example of influx from Bangladesh

Due to the repressive policies and genocide committed by military regime, General Yahya Khan forced million to take refuge in India and India, though not the member of Human Right Commission Refugee Convention of 1951, provided them with shelter and other basics need. There are many cases which show about asylum in different countries of the world like: Colombia v. Peru  (icj reports (1950), p. 266) , haya dela torre case(icj reports(1951),p. 71) etc.

Generally discussing about asylum:

Is it a fair thing to provide shelter to the person who is guilty of one or the other offence in his country to provide shelter and protection to him in any other country?

Specific ally talking about India , where there are scores of people living an under privileged life with no proper food, shelter and other basic amenities ,is it okay for such country to add to its population by the way of refugees or asylum seekers ?

The ultimate purpose is to accord protection to the refugee and person concerned and to bring him under the jurisdiction of the granting state. Everyone has a right to seek asylum yet there is no corresponding duty of states to grant asylum.

“The so called right of asylum is nothing but the competence of every state to allow a prosecuted alien to enter and to remain on, its territory under its protection.” The author is of the view that different countries are using asylum as a way to provide shelter to people from alien countries with whom their ties are not good. As Albert Einstein said, “Earth is the insane Asylum of Universe”

 

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