INTERCEPTION OF HUMAN BEINGS ON THE HIGH SEAS: A CONTEMPORARY ANALYSIS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW

In the contemporary era, States has predominantly shifted to preventing asylum seekers or illicit migrants from reaching their territory. Amongst the "non-arrival" policies employed to this end, a primary role is attributed to interception, a term which aptly describes "measures applied by States outside their national boundaries which prevent, interrupt or stop the movement of people without the necessary immigration documentation from crossing the borders by land, sea or air". It is the view of the present author that this definition encapsulates only the "negative" aspect of such policy, namely the utilization of interception to effectively entrench the borders of the States concerned. This is particularly exemplified by the practice of the European Union States independently or under the auspices of the European Agency for the Management of External Borders. Interception as a whole should be practiced in a humanitarian fashion and the protection of human beings should be placed at the center of the interest of the States involved.