This paper examines the evolution over time of attempts to establish an international law principle that states have a legal responsibility, at least under certain circumstances, to combat irregular emigration, defined as the exit of individuals who would be arriving at their destination in a manner that is not compliant with the destination country’s immigration laws. Through examination of contemporaneous statements and travaux preparatoires during six separate negotiating episodes, I shed light on attempts to develop such a norm since the beginning of the twentieth century, along with the evolving set of legal and ethical justification that were used in the process. I also examine the different practical and principled objections that other states and civil society actors employed to oppose the development of such a legal norm. I conclude by arguing that this historic research challenges current perceptions that home state controls are of recent origin, and that international migration law is inherently progressive.

中文翻译：

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出境国在打击国际法中的非正常移民中的作用：历史视角

本文研究了试图建立国际法原则的尝试随时间的演变，该原则至少在某些情况下，国家有法律责任打击非正常移民，其定义为以某种方式抵达目的地的个人离开不符合目的地国家的移民法。通过在六个单独的谈判阶段检查同时期的声明和准备工作，我阐明了自 20 世纪初以来试图制定这样一种规范的尝试，以及在这个过程中使用的不断发展的一套法律和道德理由。我还研究了其他国家和公民社会行为者为反对制定此类法律规范而采用的不同实际和原则性反对意见。