Combined effects of the amendments to the Aliens Act will be examined

A research project will examine the combined effects of the amendments to the Aliens Act and the practices of applying the Act with regard to the status of those requesting and receiving international protection. In particular, the project will examine whether the amendments have had an impact on safeguarding the best interests of the child.

As far as international protection is concerned, amendments to the Aliens Act have been prepared in recent years as separate projects in the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice. However, it is necessary that the combined effect of the changes on the status of applicants for and beneficiaries of international protection be examined as a whole. For example, the Constitutional Law Committee and the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman have drawn attention to this issue.

The research project to be launched aims to obtain more detailed information on how the amendments to the Aliens Act and the practices of applying the Act have affected overall the legal status of applicants and beneficiaries of international protection and, in particular, the status of children. The project will focus on amendments that were adopted or that entered into force during the previous government term (2015–2019).

The research project is part of the implementation of the 2020 Government plan for analysis, assessment and research. The research group includes experts from Åbo Akademi University, the University of Turku, the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control and the Migration Institute of Finland. The project steering group used an open selection process to decide who will carry out the research. The steering group includes members from the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Researchers will carry out their work independently.

The aim of the research is to obtain an overall picture of the situation, and the results can be utilised in future legislative projects. The Government Programme states that the combined impact on legal protection of the amendments made to the Aliens Act and of practices of applying the Act will be examined. The research will also produce concrete recommendations for measures. Results are expected to be available by January 2021.

The new research will add to the information from previous studies on safeguarding legal protection

In recent years, several studies have been conducted on the asylum process and the results of these have already been used by the Finnish Immigration Service and various authorities in development work.

A study commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior and completed by the Owal Group in June 2019 examined the asylum process as a whole, in particular as concerns the functioning and quality of the process and resources. Legal protection was examined in terms of the provision of legal aid for asylum seekers as well as the appeal periods for asylum decisions.

Additionally, funding from the Government's analysis, assessment and research activities was used to examine the status of asylum seekers as clients of legal aid, because the right of asylum seekers to have a state-funded counsel at an asylum interview was restricted in 2016.

Legislative amendments in line with the recommendations of these earlier studies, as stated in the Government Programme, are currently being prepared by the Ministry of Justice.

The new research will take a broader perspective than legal aid and appeal periods. It will examine the status and exercising of rights of those applying for and receiving international protection during and as a result of the process.

Inquiries:

Riitta Koponen, Director of Legislative Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, Migration Department, tel. +358 295 488 610, [email protected]
Elina Pirjatanniemi, Professor, Åbo Akademi University, tel. +358 50 401 3735, [email protected]