Melanie Fink on YouTube about holding Frontex liable
On 7 October 2020, the German Law Journal launched its new video format — the GLJ Shorts — to promote Articles published in the journal.
In the GLJ Shorts episode ‘Holding EASO and Frontex Accountable’, Melanie Fink and Lilian Tsourdi present their articles ‘The Action for Damages as a Fundamental Rights Remedy: Holding Frontex Liable’ and ‘Holding the European Asylum Support Office Accountable for its role in Asylum Decision-Making: Mission Impossible?’. Both articles appeared in the Special Issue ‘Border Justice: Migration and Accountability for Human Rights Violations’ in GLJ vol. 21:3 in April 2020.
EU agencies have an ever increasing role in the EU asylum system — raising the question how they can be held accountable. EASO is supposed to only support Greek authorities in the asylum procedure, but in fact determines the decision. Meanwhile, Frontex is in charge of highly human rights sensitive border operations. For both agencies, accountability gaps are notorious. Do extrajudicial mechanisms, such as the European Ombudsman, or mechanisms not designed for human rights claims, such as the action for damages, provide avenues to hold them accountable?
It is also available as a Podcast here or on all streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Podigee, and Deezer.
The interview is conducted by German Law Journal editor Nora Markard and was edited by Marlene Stiller.