Volume 7
Executive Summary
In 2024 and 2025, global displacement reached unprecedented levels, forcing the international community to confront the legal, moral, and institutional implications of mass migration. According to the UNHCR 2024 global trend report, more than 123.2 million people were forcibly displaced, including two million people in 2025. Armed conflict, climate change, and systemic inequality continued to displace millions—raising urgent questions about the adequacy and resilience of the rule of law in responding to these movements.
This year’s Journal on Rule of Law is dedicated to the theme Global Migration and the Rule of Law, discussed at the Conference on Global Migration and the Rule of Law, held on April 11–12, 2025, in Rome. Co-hosted by Loyola University Chicago, School of Law, and the Pontifical Gregorian University, the event brought together legal scholars, policymakers and faith leaders, who explored not just policy reforms, but the ethical foundations of legal systems facing migration pressures. The conference, grounded in a shared commitment to human dignity and justice, echoed the words of the Pope Francis: “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him.”
This volume captures both the insights of that dialogue and the critical research conducted by PROLAW students and contributors. It aims to offer scholarly reflection and practical pathways for improving legal protections for migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons. We begin with interviews of two distinguished PROLAW faculty members, whose work has shaped generations of rule of law practitioners:
- Professor Juliet Sorensen, reflections on anti-corruption, public health, and international law as intersecting spaces of reform;
- Professor Joseph Saba, insights from decades of development work in fragile and conflict-affected states.
Selected transcripts from the Rome conference follow, capturing some of the most pressing ideas raised by global experts including a keynote address by Father Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, on the theological and legal imperatives of migrant rights and Professor Emilce Cude, on the connection between human trafficking and work. This volume includes perspectives from scholars and practitioners working across legal systems and global contexts. Highlights include:
- Data-Driven Governance in Ukraine – on how IDP councils are enhancing legal participation.
- The EU and Non-Refoulement – examining legal tensions in Syrian asylum policies.
- Refugee Agency and Legal Frameworks – exploring the role of refugee participation rights in global compacts.
- Legal Analysis of Forced Displacement of Ukrainians to Russia – focusing on Ukrainian civilians and international law norms.
- Displaced by Design – a critical legal analysis of migration agreements between Nigeria and Italy.
Collectively, these contributions challenge us to rethink how migration governance is conceived, financed, and implemented—and whether it truly upholds the rule of law or compromises it under political and economic pressure.
We offer this journal in the spirit of protection, not control. In classrooms, in the field, and at global forums, we affirm that the rule of law must serve to uphold human dignity. As global migration continues to test legal systems worldwide, we hope this volume contributes meaningfully to the ongoing efforts toward justice, reform, and compassion.
Editorial Board ‘25
Halyna Kokhan, Goodness Ajinomoh, Kareem Sule Fuseini, Shirley Duru
Table of Contents
Interview with Professor Joseph P. Saba on Global Migration and The Rule of Law
Interviewers: Halyna Kokhan and Goodness Ajinomoh
Interview with Professor Juliet Sorensen on Global Migration and The Rule of Law
Interviewers: Shirley Duru and Kareem Sule Fuseini
Conference on Global Migration and the Rule of Law
April 11, 2025 –April 12, 2025. Rome, Italy.
A Keynote Address of Father Arturo Sosa, S.J.
Migration and the Rule of Law
A Keynote Address of Professor Emilce Cuda
The Connection between Human Trafficking and Work
Consolidated Conference Summaries
Displaced by Design: A Critical Legal Analysis of Migration Agreements between Nigeria and Italy
Author: Shirley Duru
Ukrainian Civilians – Including Children – Displaced to Russia from the Standpoint of International and National Law
Author: Halyna Kokhan
The Rule of Law and Meaningful Refugee Participation: Bridging Legal Frameworks and Agency
Authors: Dr. Angelo Pittaluga and Mahdia Sharifi
The EU’s Suspension of Syrian Asylum Claims: Violations of Non-Refoulement and the Erosion of the Rule of Law
Author: Alexandra Tarzikhan
Data-driven Migration Governance: How IDP Councils in Ukraine Enhance the Rule of Law for Displaced Populations
Authors: Valeriya Vershynina and Serhii Horovenko