The Manus Island Regional Processing Centre: A Legal Taxonomy

Abstract This article considers the controversial cooperative migration control approach of extraterritorial asylum through a case study of the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre ( RPC ), in operation between 2012 and 2017. Rather than operating in a ‘legal black hole’, the RPC was the site of legal contestation, as refugees and their lawyers turned to various legal fora in an attempt to hold Australia, Papua New Guinea and private contractors responsible for violations of human rights law. The recent closure of the RPC , as a result of litigation in the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court, shows that just as States employ a broad range of deterrence policies, refugee lawyers have an emerging ‘toolbox’ at their disposal to challenge extraterritorial asylum policies. The Manus Island RPC experience holds lessons for future litigation on policies of extraterritorial asylum, presenting both opportunities and risks for policymakers and refugee lawyers alike.