Controversial return law set for State Council consideration this week despite human rights concerns

The controversial “return law” is advancing to the State Council for consideration this week, with the aim of enacting it within the week. The law was voted in favour of by the Parliament last Friday, and is scheduled to be presented to the President on Tuesday. If the President confirms the law, the effective date of the law will be decided simultaneously, according to Government Counsellor Sanna Palo from the Ministry of Interior’s Border Guard Department.

The purpose of the return law is to prevent instrumentalised entry by restricting the reception of asylum seekers at the border. Under this law, border guards can also expel asylum seekers from the country. However, experts criticise the law as being against international law and human rights treaties. The law may end up before the EU court at some point, predicts Anitta Kynsilehto, assistant professor at the University of Tampere.

Palo estimates that questions about the conflicts of the return law will not significantly affect when the law comes into force. Significant changes to the law cannot be made at this stage, she points out.

Under the return law, the Border Guard can prevent asylum seekers from entering the country or remove them from the country. A border guard can admit an asylum seeker into the country for specific reasons, such as the asylum seeker’s young age, illness, disability, or if they are targeted for persecution in Russia. Other individuals will be returned to Russia by the border guards.