Search and Rescue

Efthymios Papastavridis

Chapter 90 in Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Migration and Asylum Law, 2025, pp 524-529 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The legal regime governing search and rescue at sea consists of rules not only under the international law of the sea, but also under human rights law and transnational criminal law (smuggling of migrants and human trafficking). It has been at the fore of international public and scholarly discourse since it is inexorably linked with the recent refugee crises in Europe and elsewhere, and the increasing number of people losing their lives at sea. The regime sets out clearly the duties of both the flag state, including those of the master of the vessel concerned, and the coastal state, while obligations under human rights law underpin the rights of people to be rescued at sea and to be disembarked to a place of safety where they will face no persecution. Notwithstanding this flurry of relevant rules, controversies and challenges loom large, mainly concerning disembarkation, pull-back practices, and ‘criminalization’ of rescue operations.

Keywords: Search and rescue; Distress; Migration; Disembarkation; Right to life; Non-refoulement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781802204148
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