The Internal Protection Alternative Under European Union Law: Examining the Recast Qualification Directive

The European Union is currently in the process of revising the central directives that make up European Union refugee law, a project that will touch on almost every aspect of seeking asylum in Europe. This article will focus on the implementation of one doctrine, the internal protection or internal flight alternative, under the recently recast Qualification Directive. The article will first examine the application of the internal protection alternative, based on the text of the 1951 Convention, and UNHCR and academic commentary. Following this examination, the article will critique the recast Qualification Directive, concluding that, by effectively providing two alternative standards for IPA, it is unlikely to result in greater harmonization in Europe, and that both standards are problematic from the perspective of international law. Despite these shortcomings, recent European Court of Justice jurisprudence has clarified and improved previous interpretations of EU asylum law.