Asylum and Refugee Law - Legal Research
Conduct legal research on refugee protection and EU migration.
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Overview
Conduct legal research on refugee protection and EU migration.
You have:
- Education or experience in legal research, or other relevant field
- Familiarity with refugee or humanitarian policy and legislative framework and practice
- Professional integrity and commitment to core humanitarian principles
- Excellent drafting skills; analytical skills; experience in data analysis
Contract
This is a UNV contract. More about UNV contracts.
By a decision of the European Council on 4 December 2024, Bulgaria fully acceded to the Schengen zone as an EU Member State positioned on its external borders, lifting internal land borders with Romania. The evolving political and socio-economic landscape in Bulgaria, with a coalition government established in in January 2025, poses challenges for asylum seekers and refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and from countries in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2024, Bulgaria received 12,250 applications for asylum compared to 22,518 in 2023.
Since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, Bulgaria has granted temporary protection to more than 205,190 refugees as of the beginning of April 2025. Through an annual verification exercise, the Government has renewed the validity of temporary protection ID cards. Temporary Protection (TP) for refugees from Ukraine in Bulgaria has been extended until March 2026, in line with the EU Directive.
UNHCR supports government-led efforts to provide key protection, including legal assistance, information on services, education, and psychosocial support. UNHCR's priority protection interventions include access to territory and asylum procedures, inclusion of refugees in essential services, Child Protection, Gender-Based Violence response, support to persons with specific needs, and mitigation of risks related to trafficking and other forms of abuse and exploitation.
Selected candidates with assist UNHCR with specific legal research tasks concerning Bulgaria’s protection and inclusion regime concerning asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons as well as relevant legal and policy matters and good practices, and the impact of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum on refugee protection and inclusion / integration in Bulgaria. The research conducted by the volunteers will support UNHCR’s efforts to provide technical assistance to the national counterparts, and may include desk review of UNHCR positions and caselaw on asylum issues of European and national courts, reception conditions, child protection, and country of origin information. The volunteers will be provided with resources and training to conduct such research, and will receive feedback from UNHCR experts.
We expect the selected online volunteer(s) to start with this task. 1. May – July 2025 2. August – October 2025
- Conducting legal research on issues relating to refugee protection with regards to Temporary Protection regime and the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum
- Conducting desk review of UNHCR information and guidance, and legal research on questions formulated by UNHCR experts, relevant to Bulgaria’s protection and inclusion regime concerning asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons
- Compiling and translating briefs on legal issues and caselaw of the national and European courts
Required experience: Education or experience in legal research, or other relevant field Familiarity with refugee or humanitarian policy and legislative framework and practice Professional integrity and commitment to core humanitarian principles Excellent drafting skills; analytical skills; experience in data analysis
Potential interview questions
| Describe your experience in conducting legal research in the context of refugee law. | The interviewer wants to understand your familiarity with legal research, specifically in the area of asylum and refugee matters. | Discuss specific projects or coursework that demonstrate your legal research capabilities. |
| How familiar are you with the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and its implications for refugees? | This question seeks to assess your knowledge of current EU legislative frameworks affecting refugees. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| Can you give an example of a time when you showed commitment to humanitarian principles? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| What methods do you use to ensure accuracy in your legal research findings? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| Explain how you would approach compiling and translating legal briefs. | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| Describe a situation where you analyzed data to support a legal argument or research. | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| How do you stay updated on changes in refugee law and policy? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| What challenges have you faced in your previous research projects, and how did you overcome them? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
Added 1 year ago
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Updated 1 year ago
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Source:
unv.org
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