Alternatives to Detention in the Proposed EU Migration Pact

On 23 September 2020, the European Commission published a Migration and Asylum package, consisting of several legislative proposals and non-legislative accompanying documents, which it communicated to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions for consideration. As of June 2023, the Pact remains subject to ongoing scrutiny.

This Scoping Paper considers the viability of Alternatives to Detention, principally as understood in the ‘wide’ sense, in the context of the Pact as currently drafted. Findings suggest that, while it is implied within the various instruments that immigration detention will continue to be subject to the principle of ‘last resort’, the Pact arguably does not allow for ATD as currently drafted.