Document Type

Article

Abstract

Liberal democracies aspire to respect minimum standards of individual liberty and due process to all. They structurally limit their powers with respect to how they treat all persons-including noncitizens, also known as "aliens." Nonetheless, the exact scope and nature of the limitations imposed by international and domestic legal regimes for the expulsion of noncitizens still remains uncertain and is in a constant state of evolution in multiple directions. Indeed, a mix of situational progression and regression characterizes these regimes. The proper balance between personal liberty, due process, and equal protection on the one hand-and security, economic and related governmental and other common societal interests on the other, has proven elusive. This article attempts to identify the minimum international standards that apply to the expulsion of aliens in times of war and peace, and measure these international standards against those that apply in the United States and European Union. By so doing, it intends to highlight the congruity and disjuncture between the international standards and the standards that apply in the United States and European Union, and extricate the best practices that they could learn from each other.

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