The European Society of International Law (ESIL) Interest Group on Migration and Refugee Law (MigRefLaw), in collaboration with REF-FIN (Refugee Finance: Histories, Frameworks, Practices) and CoSME (Community Sponsorship for Migrants in Europe), is organising a pre-conference workshop on 11 September 2025 in Berlin as a side event to the ESIL Annual Conference.

The workshop will examine the evolving frameworks of asylum in light of emerging actors, processes, and spaces. As international protection undergoes significant transformations due to externalised migration governance, digital technologies, private sponsorship, and non-state actors, the workshop will explore how these changes affect the legal and practical dimensions of asylum. Key themes include the role of financial institutions, private actors, and local communities in asylum systems, as well as legal voids, extraterritorial border policies, and offshore processing.

A Call for Papers has been issued for contributions addressing topics such as:

- The impact of legal changes since the UN Global Compacts on Migrants and Refugees;

- The role of private and humanitarian actors in asylum governance;

- The effects of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum on protection frameworks;

- The increasing reliance on informal legal instruments in migration governance;

- Automated decision-making and legal fictions in asylum procedures;

- The role of community sponsorship in facilitating refugee access and integration.

Scholars and practitioners interested in contributing are invited to submit abstracts (max. 300 words) by 11 April 2025 to the IG conveners at migreflaw@gmail.com. Selected participants will be notified by 24 April 2025. Extended abstracts (3000–3500 words) will be due by 31 July 2025.

All workshop participants must register for the ESIL Annual Conference. Some ESIL travel and carers’ grants are available to support participation. Further details on registration and funding opportunities can be found on the ESIL website.