Human Rights Violations During EU Border Surveillance and Return Operations: Frontex’s Shared Responsibility or Complicity? Cover Image

Human Rights Violations During EU Border Surveillance and Return Operations: Frontex’s Shared Responsibility or Complicity?
Human Rights Violations During EU Border Surveillance and Return Operations: Frontex’s Shared Responsibility or Complicity?

Author(s): Izabella Majcher
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Frontex; Joint Operations; Joint Return Operations; accountability; Draft Articles on Responsibility of International Organisations; shared responsibility; attribution of conduct; complicity

Summary/Abstract: As the International Law Association highlights “[power] entails accountability, i.e. the duty to account for its exercise.” Against this background, the article focuses on the question of accountability of the European Union (EU) border agency Frontex for potential human rights violations that may occur in the course of its operations. The article aims to challenge Frontex’s stance that states bear sole responsibility for any wrongful act. Rather, it is argued here that Frontex may incur responsibility, alongside a wrongdoing state. Shared responsibility, or responsibility for complicity that may arise in such circumstances, would reflect intertwined acts and powers of various actors involved in Frontex’s operations.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 7
  • Page Range: 45-78
  • Page Count: 34