The evaluation of vulnerabilities in international protection: practice and perspectives under the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

This dissertation analyses the evaluation of vulnerabilities within international protection procedures in the European Union, focusing on the reforms introduced by the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. The research examines how vulnerability is identified in practice and how the new regulatory framework may impact applicants' access to safeguards in light of the Common European Asylum System's (CEAS) structural weaknesses and repercussions of the 2015 refugee crisis. The study blends empirical research with doctrinal legal analysis: it reconstructs the development of European asylum law from the Dublin system and the 1951 Refugee Convention to the current Pact, emphasising the ongoing conflict between responsibility-sharing, efficiency, and the defence of fundamental rights. Particular attention is devoted to the Pact’s key innovations, including mandatory border screening, accelerated procedures, and revised solidarity mechanisms. The empirical core is based on a 300-hour internship at the Specialized Section for Immigration and International Protection of the Court of Bologna, during which 2,231 appeal case files issued in 2024 were systematically screened. The analysis maps applicants’ nationalities, claims, transit routes, and recorded vulnerabilities, revealing significant disparities in the identification of special needs, frequent documentation gaps at the administrative stage, and a strong reliance on credibility assessments in rejection decisions. The dissertation argues that effective protection depends on early and precise vulnerability identification. There is a real risk that procedural acceleration will marginalise complex individual circumstances given the Pact's emphasis on speed and pre-entry filtering. Therefore, strong and context-sensitive evaluation procedures that can balance effectiveness with the customised guarantees underlying international refugee law are necessary for a rights-oriented implementation of the reform.