49 / 2019

Vlasta Jalušič

Criminalizing “Pro-Immigrant” Initiatives: Reducing the Space of Human Action

The article addresses the problem of the surveillance, disciplining and criminalization of practices of non-governmental initiatives which offer help to irregular migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Slovenia and four neighbouring countries. Based on original empirical work – interviews with members of NGOs – it analyses the dynamic of these processes through several stages of the “continuum of criminalization”. Five types of crimmigration policies and practices of authorities and other actors were identified which produce cumulative effects and reduce space for both political and human action as well as spontaneity.
KEY WORDS: crimmigration, humanitarianism, solidarity, irregular migrants, non-governmental actors

49 / 2019

Vlasta Jalušič

Criminalizing “Pro-Immigrant” Initiatives: Reducing the Space of Human Action

The article addresses the problem of the surveillance, disciplining and criminalization of practices of non-governmental initiatives which offer help to irregular migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Slovenia and four neighbouring countries. Based on original empirical work – interviews with members of NGOs – it analyses the dynamic of these processes through several stages of the “continuum of criminalization”. Five types of crimmigration policies and practices of authorities and other actors were identified which produce cumulative effects and reduce space for both political and human action as well as spontaneity.
KEY WORDS: crimmigration, humanitarianism, solidarity, irregular migrants, non-governmental actors

49 / 2019

Vasja Badalič

Rejected Syrians: Violations of the Principle of “Non-Refoulement” in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon

The article analyses the practices used by Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon to prevent Syrians from exercising their right to seek and enjoy asylum. The article consists of two sections. The first section examines how all three host countries violated the principle of non-refoulement by employing a range of unlawful practices (e.g. border closures and “pushbacks”, arbitrary detentions and deportations etc.). The second section examines how Lebanon resorted to practices that created circumstances for constructive refoulement of Syrian asylum seekers and refugees (e.g. shutting down the authority responsible for processing asylum claims, stripping Syrian refugees of their protected status etc.). KEY WORDS: Syrian refugees, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, principle of non-refoulement, constructive refoulement

49 / 2019

Vasja Badalič

Rejected Syrians: Violations of the Principle of “Non-Refoulement” in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon

The article analyses the practices used by Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon to prevent Syrians from exercising their right to seek and enjoy asylum. The article consists of two sections. The first section examines how all three host countries violated the principle of non-refoulement by employing a range of unlawful practices (e.g. border closures and “pushbacks”, arbitrary detentions and deportations etc.). The second section examines how Lebanon resorted to practices that created circumstances for constructive refoulement of Syrian asylum seekers and refugees (e.g. shutting down the authority responsible for processing asylum claims, stripping Syrian refugees of their protected status etc.). KEY WORDS: Syrian refugees, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, principle of non-refoulement, constructive refoulement

49 / 2019

Neža Kogovšek Šalamon

The Role of the Conditionality of EU Membership in Migrant Criminalization in the Western Balkans

The EU’s responses to migration challenges exceed the territory of its member states. Through externalization of border control they spill over into the countries of the Western Balkans (WB), which is crossed by one of the most important migration routes from the Middle East and Africa to the EU. While the WB countries show indifference towards migrants and consider them an “EU problem”, the latter conditions European integration with the establishment of migration management structures similar to those in the EU. The transposition of the EU acquis also increases the criminalization of migrants, which highlights the problematic role of the EU and national legislators in WB in relation to the fundamental rights of migrants.
KEY WORDS: migration, detention, migrant criminalization, European Union, Western Balkans

49 / 2019

Neža Kogovšek Šalamon

The Role of the Conditionality of EU Membership in Migrant Criminalization in the Western Balkans

The EU’s responses to migration challenges exceed the territory of its member states. Through externalization of border control they spill over into the countries of the Western Balkans (WB), which is crossed by one of the most important migration routes from the Middle East and Africa to the EU. While the WB countries show indifference towards migrants and consider them an “EU problem”, the latter conditions European integration with the establishment of migration management structures similar to those in the EU. The transposition of the EU acquis also increases the criminalization of migrants, which highlights the problematic role of the EU and national legislators in WB in relation to the fundamental rights of migrants.
KEY WORDS: migration, detention, migrant criminalization, European Union, Western Balkans

49 / 2019

Aleš Završnik

The European Digital Fortress and Large Biometric EU IT Systems: Border Criminology, Technology, and Human Rights

Today, at a time when we are witnessing the “multiplication of borders”, borders are occupying new domains. The article focuses on the erection of digital borders by means of biometric technology, which is creating new knowledge through the compilation of large biometric databases in the EU. By “tattooing” borders onto immigrant bodies, disciplinary power is being superseded by the post-disciplinary power of “instant surveillance”. The article continues by analysing re-bordering practices by means of seemingly apolitical information technology, and concludes by delving into the new harms caused by re-bordering, including violations of human rights and the emergence of multi-layered criminal law.
KEY WORDS: biometric data, human rights, information technology, border criminology, large IT database

49 / 2019

Aleš Završnik

The European Digital Fortress and Large Biometric EU IT Systems: Border Criminology, Technology, and Human Rights

Today, at a time when we are witnessing the “multiplication of borders”, borders are occupying new domains. The article focuses on the erection of digital borders by means of biometric technology, which is creating new knowledge through the compilation of large biometric databases in the EU. By “tattooing” borders onto immigrant bodies, disciplinary power is being superseded by the post-disciplinary power of “instant surveillance”. The article continues by analysing re-bordering practices by means of seemingly apolitical information technology, and concludes by delving into the new harms caused by re-bordering, including violations of human rights and the emergence of multi-layered criminal law.
KEY WORDS: biometric data, human rights, information technology, border criminology, large IT database

49 / 2019

Jaka Kukavica, Mojca M. Plesničar

Punishing the Alien: The Sentencing of Foreign Offenders in Slovenia

The authors examine the question of foreignness, which appears in many shades; citizenship is thus just one of the many aspects contributing to society’s stance on ‘foreignness’. After sketching the current prison situation in Europe, the authors analyse the situation of foreigners in the Slovenian criminal justice system. On the one hand, we can perceive a general turn towards harsher treatment of foreign offenders – there have been more convictions and more foreigners in prison recently. However, a more detailed analysis shows that with regard to cases of homicide, foreigners may even be receiving more lenient sentences compared to Slovenian citizens.
KEY WORDS: foreigners, prison, criminal justice, court, sentencing

49 / 2019

Jaka Kukavica, Mojca M. Plesničar

Punishing the Alien: The Sentencing of Foreign Offenders in Slovenia

The authors examine the question of foreignness, which appears in many shades; citizenship is thus just one of the many aspects contributing to society’s stance on ‘foreignness’. After sketching the current prison situation in Europe, the authors analyse the situation of foreigners in the Slovenian criminal justice system. On the one hand, we can perceive a general turn towards harsher treatment of foreign offenders – there have been more convictions and more foreigners in prison recently. However, a more detailed analysis shows that with regard to cases of homicide, foreigners may even be receiving more lenient sentences compared to Slovenian citizens.
KEY WORDS: foreigners, prison, criminal justice, court, sentencing