Justice Matrix · Issues
Asylum access at the border
What stops a state turning people away before they can lodge a claim?
Records on the right to lodge an asylum claim at the border, gathered alongside the transit-bans issue.
14 cases2 campaigns1993–2026
19932026
The Law14
FavorablehighVerified
Ruta v Minister of Home Affairs [2018] ZACC 52
Constitutional Court of South Africa · 2018
FavorablehighVerified
Hirsi Jamaa and Others v Italy (GC), App No 27765/09
ECtHR (Grand Chamber) · 2012
AdversehighVerified
Sale v Haitian Centers Council, 509 U.S. 155 (1993)
US Supreme Court · 1993
anchorNeeds review
C-404/26
CJEU · 2026
anchorNeeds review
C-230/26
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) · 2026
Needs review
C-328/26
CJEU · 2026
Needs review
C-223/26
Court of Justice of the European Union · 2026
Needs review
C-252/26
Court of Justice of the European Union · 2026
Needs review
C-377/26
CJEU · 2026
Needs review
Spirink C-445/26
CJEU · 2026
Needs review
C-449/26
Court of Justice of the European Union · 2026
Needs review
C-482/26
CJEU · 2026
Needs review
Fisnoix C-333/26
Court of Justice of the European Union · 2026
Needs review
Hardeker (C-182/26 PPU)
CJEU
The Movement2
The People0
Lived-experience accounts for this issue are not in the matrix yet. Contribute one.
What the courts held
The doctrine, in the courts’ own holdings.
Held for protection (2)
“Confirmed right to apply for asylum despite delay/criminal conviction; Refugees Act read with non-refoulement governs over deportation.”
Ruta v Minister of Home Affairs [2018] ZACC 52 (2018)Verified
“Italy violated Articles 3 & 4 Prot. 4 by intercepting and returning migrants to Libya; affirmed non-refoulement applies on high seas.”
Hirsi Jamaa and Others v Italy (GC), App No 27765/09 (2012)Verified
Playbook
What worked, what failed, what is reusable.
The pattern. The right to apply for asylum can survive border measures that try to switch it off. This issue gathers the real records tagged to asylum access and border restrictions.
Reviewer note. Check the overlap with the published transit-bans issue before publishing. If the gathered records are largely the same, merge rather than run two doors onto one set.
This is a research resource, not legal advice. Read the linked source before acting on it.
On this issue recently
Research resource, not legal advice. Read the original source before acting. Cases and campaigns are gathered by shared issue tags; some may be machine-extracted and pending human review.