Protection of Human Life at Sea in International Law: Rescuing Maritime Migrants (Law and Migration)

The law of the sea imposes a long-established duty to rescue persons in distress, which connotes one of the most important tools in safeguarding safety of life at sea.Other rules of international law, namely, international human rights and refugee law also come into play in drawing the legal parameters for the conduct of rescue operations. Amid the thousands of people undertaking perilous sea journeys in search of safety, European legal responses have primarily focused on the securitization of migration.This book exposes the human rights violations that may be perpetrated against migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean and strongly advocates for the development of a framework for operationalizing the protection of human rights - and life - at sea.It combines theory and practice in which philosophical theories of rights are applied to create a framework for legal analysis and the development of practical legal standards.The study presents an innovative evaluation of selected judg