The right to seek and enjoy asylum is a core principle of international human rights and refugee law, enabling individuals who lack protection from their country of origin to access safety, dignity, and durable solutions. Anchored in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further elaborated in the 1951 Refugee Convention, its 1967 Protocol, and regional instruments, this right is inseparable from the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning individuals to places where their life or freedom would be at risk. 

The Asylum rights category assesses domestic legal frameworks regulating access to territory, admission for the purpose of seeking asylum, access to and fairness of asylum procedures, and the determination and documentation of refugee or complementary protection status. It also covers the legal standards for exclusion, cancellation, revocation, cessation, and removal of individuals not in need of protection. 

The framework examines whether laws ensure non‑penalization for irregular entry, guarantee registration and fair procedural safeguards—such as the right to be heard, interpretation, legal assistance, reasoned decisions, and an independent appeal—and support efficient case processing through adequate structures, staffing, and case management systems. It also evaluates provisions for prima facie recognition in mass influx situations, the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, and access to complementary protection. Finally, the category analyzes safeguards governing expulsion, protection from refoulement, and the return of individuals not entitled to protection.