The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees adopted on 28 July 1951 in Geneva continues to provide the most comprehensive codification of the rights of refugees yet attempted. Consolidating previous international instruments relating to refugees, the 1951 Convention with its 1967 Protocol marks a cornerstone in the development of international refugee law. At present, there are 149 States Parties to one or both of these instruments, expressing a worldwide consensus on the definition of the term refugee and the fundamental rights to be granted to refugees. These facts demonstrate and underline the extraordinary significance of these instruments as the indispensable legal basis of international refugee law. This Commentary provides for a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol on an article-by-article basis, exposing the interrelationship between the different articles and discussing the latest developments in international refugee law. In addition, several thematic contributions analyse questions of international refugee law which are of general significance, such as regional developments, the interrelationship between refugee law and general human rights law, as well as the relationship between refugee law and the law of the sea.

Table of Contents:
Filippo Grandi: Foreword 1: Claudena Skran and Evan Easton-Calabria: Historical Development of International Refugee Law 2: Terje Einarsen: Drafting History of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol 3: Jane McAdam and Emma Dunlop: Interpretation of the 1951 Convention 4: Terje Einarsen and Jessica Schultz: Global Developments in Refugee Law 5: Anja Klug: Regional Developments: Europe 6: Sam Blay: Regional Developments: Asia 7: Jacob van Garderen: Regional developments: Africa 8: Flávia Piovesan, Liliana Lyra Jubilut and Melissa Casagrande: Regional developments: Americas 9: Ralf Alleweldt: Preamble to the 1951 Convention 10: Ralf Alleweldt: Preamble to the 1967 Protocol 11: Ralf Alleweldt: Final Act 12: Stefanie Schmahl: Art. 1 A, para. 1 1951 Convention 13: Andreas Zimmermann and Franziska M. Herrmann: Art. 1 A, para. 2 1951 Convention 14: Stefanie Schmahl: Art. 1 B 1951 Convention 15: Susan Kneebone and Maria O'Sullivan: Art. 1 C 1951 Convention 16: Mutaz Qafisheh and Francesca Albanese: Art. 1 D 1951 Convention 17: Yao Li: Art. 1 E 1951 Convention 18: Joseph Rikhof and Philipp Wennholz: Art. 1 F 1951 Convention 19: Stefanie Schmahl: Art. 1 1967 Protocol 20: Hélène Lambert: Art. 2 1951 Convention 21: Mpoki Mwakagali and Reinhard Marx: Art. 3 1951 Convention 22: Christian Walter: Art. 4 1951 Convention 23: Achilles Skordas and Meltem Ineli-Ciger: Art. 5 1951 Convention 24: Mpoki Mwakagali and Reinhard Marx: Art. 6 1951 Convention 25: Achilles Skordas and Meltem Ineli-Ciger: Art. 7 1951 Convention 26: Ulrike Davy and Rebecca Thorburn Stern: Art. 8 1951 Convention 27: Ulrike Davy and Rebecca Thorburn Stern: Art. 9 1951 Convention 28: Stefanie Schmahl: Art. 10 1951 Convention 29: Roland Bank: Art. 11 1951 Convention 30: Rainer Hofmann, Adela Schmidt and Lssan Estifanos: Refugee Determination Procedures 31: Roland Bank: Refugees at Sea 32: Eileen Denza: Diplomatic Asylum 33: Axel Metzger: Art. 12 1951 Convention 34: Scott Leckie and Ezekiel Simperingham: Art. 13 1951 Convention 35: Axel Metzger: Art. 14 1951 Convention 36: Michael Teichmann: Art. 15 1951 Convention 37: Björn Elberling and Rebecca Thorburn Stern: Art. 16 1951 Convention 38: Alice Edwards: Art. 17 1951 Convention 39: Alice Edwards: Art. 18 1951 Convention 40: Alice Edwards: Art. 19 1951 Convention 41: Eve Lester: Art. 20 1951 Convention 42: Scott Leckie and Ezekiel Simperingham: Art. 21 1951 Convention 43: Andreas Zimmermann and Rebecca Thorburn Stern: Art. 22 1951 Convention 44: Eve Lester: Art. 23 1951 Convention 45: Eve Lester: Art. 24 1951 Convention 46: Eve Lester: Art. 25 1951 Convention 47: Marjoleine Zieck: Art. 26 1951 Convention 48: Jens Vedsted-Hansen: Art. 27 1951 Convention 49: Jens Vedsted-Hansen: Art. 28/Schedule 50: Boldizsár Nagy: Art. 29 1951 Convention 51: Boldizsár Nagy: Art. 30 1951 Convention 52: Gregor Noll: Art. 31 1951 Convention 53: Ulrike Davy and María-Teresa Gil-Bazo: Art. 32 1951 Convention 54: Walter Kälin, Martina Caroni and Lukas Heim: Art. 33, para. 1 1951 Convention 55: Philipp Wennholz and Joseph Rikhof: Art. 33, para. 2 1951 Convention 56: Reinhard Marx and Yao Li: Art. 34 1951 Convention 57: Marjoleine Zieck: Art. 35 1951 Convention/Article II 1967 Protocol 58: Stefanie Schmahl: Art. 36 1951 Convention/Article III 1967 Protocol, Marjoleine Zieck59:Art. 37 1951 Convention 60: Karin Oellers-Frahm: Art. 38 1951 Convention/Article IV 1967 Protocol 61: Robin Geiß and Yao Li: Art. 39 1951 Convention/Article V 1967 Protocol 62: María-Teresa Gil-Bazo: Art. 40 1951 Convention 63: María-Teresa Gil-Bazo: Art. 41 1951 Convention/Article VI 1967 Protocol 64: Alain Pellet: Art. 42 1951 Convention/Article VII 1967 Protocol 65: Robin Geiß and Yao Li: Art. 43 1951 Convention/Article VIII 1967 Protocol 66: Robin Geiß and Yao Li: Art. 44 1951 Convention/Article IX 1967 Protocol 67: Terje Einarsen: Art. 45 1951 Convention 68: Robin Geiß and Yao Li: Art. 46 1951 Convention/Article X 1967 Protocol 69: Robin Geiß and Yao Li: Testemonium 1951 Convention/Article XI 1967 Protocol