ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with one of the most pressing and difficult issues of modern times – the way in which the international community should respond to refugee flows and the content of the law which should govern that response. It examines the criteria used to grant and revoke refugee status, the nature and length of the protection which should be accorded to recognised refugees and the procedures used in such determinations. The book focuses on controversial development in state practice of international refugee law: the use of time-limited permits for recognised refuges and the cessation of refugee status due to a change in circumstances in conditions in the refugee’s country of nationality under Article 1C(5) of the 1951 Refugee Convention. It explores the application by states of the cessation clause of the 1951 Refugee Convention in relation to individually recognised refugees.
