Entitlement of States under International Law to Compensation for the Costs Relating to Admission of Forced Migrants

Veliki migracijski tokovi, ki smo jim priča v zadnjih letih po vsem svetu, danes predstavljajo enega izmed glavnih problemov, s katerimi se sooča celotna mednarodna skupnost, in ne glede na razlog migracij, to pomeni, da je veliko držav, ki prebežnike gostijo, finančno precej obremenjenih. Vsled temu magistrsko diplomsko delo naslavlja pogosto zastavljeno vprašanje, ali država gostiteljica lahko po mednarodnem pravu zahteva od države izvora odškodnino za stroške sprejema ljudi, ki so iz nje morali zbežati. Prva predpostavka za uspešno uveljavljanje odškodnine v takšnih primerih je, da se dokaže, da so ljudje iz države izvora zbežali zaradi njenih ravnanj, pri čemer klasičen primer tovrstnega ravnanja predstavljajo sistematične kršitve osnovnih človekovih pravic. Naslednjo predpostavko predstavlja podlaga odškodninskega zahtevka, ki temelji bodisi na kršitvi obveznosti ne-povzročanja masovnih valov prebežnikov, ki jo država izvora državi gostiteljici dolguje posamično, bodisi na samih kršitvah človekovih pravic, kot erga omnes partes obveznosti, ki jih država izvora dolguje določeni skupini držav, del katere je tudi država gostiteljica, ki jo te kršitve še posebej prizadenejo. Vendar pa ne glede na to, da sta obe podlagi odškodninskega zahtevka teoretično zadostno prepričljivi, glavni problem predstavlja pomanjkanje mednarodne sodne prakse in prakse držav, zaradi česar je dejanska možnost uspeha takšnega zahtevka omejena. Zadnjo predpostavko predstavlja nastanek škode, to so vsi stroški, ki so v dovolj neposredni povezavi s protipravnim ravnanjem, katerim se država gostiteljica načeloma ne more izogniti, saj prebežnikov na meji ne sme zavrniti, če jih to izpostavi situacijam, ki jih obveznost nevračanja (non-refoulement) skuša preprečiti. Čisto na koncu je treba omeniti tudi pravočasnost odškodninskega zahtevka, saj mora država gostiteljica glede na notornost okoliščin masovnega vala prebežnikov svoj zahtevek naperiti relativno hitro, sicer se ta lahko šteje za nedopustnega.Massive migration flows around the globe nowadays represent one of the main issues of the entire international community, and regardless of the reasons behind them, many countries are faced with huge financial burdens as they host a great number of forced migrants. Against this background, the thesis addresses an oft-posed question as to whether host countries have a right under international law to obtain compensation from countries of origin for the costs relating to admission of people who were forced to flee from their country of origin. In order to claim compensation in such cases successfully, one first needs to establish that the flight of people to the host country was a result of the acts of the country of origin – a classic example of such acts are systematic violations of basic human rights. Then, one needs to present a valid ground for the claim for compensation. This is either a violation of the obligation not to cause large-scale flows of forced migrants, which is owed to the host country individually, or violations of human rights as erga omnes partes obligations, which are owed to a certain group of States, including the host country, which is specially affected by those violations. However, notwithstanding that both these grounds for compensation are theoretically sound, the problem of the lack of international judicial and State practice remains, which reduces the chances of the claim to be successful. Lastly, one needs to demonstrate the occurrence of actual damage, which in such cases takes the form of all the costs relating to admission of forced migrant that are of sufficient causal proximity to the wrongful acts of the country of origin. Moreover, the host country cannot avoid those costs since it shall not deny entry on its territory to forced migrants if this would expose them to situations which the obligation of non refoulement seeks to prevent. At the very end, it has to be stressed that in light of the notoriety of the circumstances surrounding a massive flow of forced migrants, the host country has to assert the claim for compensation promptly, otherwise it runs the risk of being inadmissible