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Chetail, Vincent --- "The transnational movement of persons under general international law - Mapping the customary law foundations of international migration law" [2014] ELECD 176; in Chetail, Vincent; Bauloz, Céline (eds), "Research Handbook on International Law and Migration" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014) 1

Book Title: Research Handbook on International Law and Migration

Editor(s): Chetail, Vincent; Bauloz, Céline

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9780857930040

Section Title: The transnational movement of persons under general international law - Mapping the customary law foundations of international migration law

Author(s): Chetail, Vincent

Number of pages: 72

Extract:

The transnational movement of persons under
general international law ­ Mapping the customary
law foundations of international migration law
Vincent Chetail



1. INTRODUCTION: PRELIMINARY REMARKS ABOUT
INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION LAW AS THE GLOBAL FRAME
OF ANALYSIS
The role of international law in the sensitive field of migration is complex, ambiguous
and frequently neglected. Such a situation is probably due to the dual nature of
migration which is a question of both domestic and international concern. On the one
hand, admission of non-citizens is traditionally considered as pertaining to the domestic
jurisdiction of each State. On the other hand, the movement of persons across borders
is international by nature since it presupposes a triangular relationship between a
migrant, a State of emigration and a State of immigration.
The ambivalent posture of international law with regard to migration is exacerbated
by the fragmentation of the legal norms governing the movement of persons across
borders. The current legal framework is scattered throughout a wide array of principles
and rules belonging to numerous branches of international law (including refugee law,
human rights law, humanitarian law, labour law, trade law, maritime and air law,
criminal law, nationality law, consular and diplomatic law, etc.). The great variety of
applicable norms does not only reflect the multifaceted dimensions of migration but
also its cross-cutting character which transcends existing branches of international law.
However, from a systemic angle, the international legal framework governing
migration resembles `a giant unassembled juridical jigsaw puzzle', for which `the
number of pieces is ...