Abstract

Does the regulation of migration constitute a blatant case of arbitrary law-making? What is arbitrary law-making? And how does it manifest itself in contemporary migration policy? These are pressing issues that the scholars who come together in this special issue seek to engage with, by exploring international migration from the point of view of arbitrary power. When does legitimate state discretion slide into an exercise of arbitrary power? Since we cannot address what we do not understand, the urgency of the matter addressed in this special issue speaks for itself. Deciding who may enjoy the right of abode, the right to remain, the right to asylum and to citizenship is a key power of the state: it is a regal prerogative, an act of sovereignty, limited only by deliberately accepted commitments, such as the respect for human rights. This makes migration policy an exceptionally interesting ground to test the limits of discretion and the forms of arbitrariness. Power can be understood to be of a discretional nature if it acts freely within the boundaries defined by law, whereas arbitrariness qualifies discretional power exceeding the limits of law.