Towards the Ethical Publication of Country of Origin Information (COI) in the Asylum Process

30 Minds & Machines 247 (2020) (published version available at Doi.org/10.1007/s11023-020-09523-w)

10 Pages Posted: 31 Oct 2018 Last revised: 28 Mar 2023

See all articles by Nikita Aggarwal

Nikita Aggarwal

UCLA School of Law; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Luciano Floridi

Yale University - Digital Ethics Center; University of Bologna- Department of Legal Studies

Date Written: October 9, 2018

Abstract

This article addresses the question of how ‘Country of Origin Information’ (COI) reports — that is, research developed and used to support decision-making in the asylum process — can be published in an ethical manner. The article focuses on the risk that published COI reports could be misused and thereby harm the subjects of the reports and/or those involved in their development. It supports a situational approach to assessing data ethics when publishing COI reports, whereby COI service providers must weigh up the benefits and harms of publication based, inter alia, on the foreseeability and probability of harm due to potential misuse of the research, the public good nature of the research, and the need to balance the rights and duties of the various actors in the asylum process, including asylum seekers themselves. Although this article focuses on the specific question of ‘how to publish COI reports in an ethical manner’, it also intends to promote further research on data ethics in the asylum process, particularly in relation to refugees, where more foundational issues should be considered.

Keywords: Asylum Claims, Country of Origin Information (COI), Data Ethics, Dual Use Research, Refugees, Human Rights, Open Access

JEL Classification: F22, F50, F60, K33, K37, O15

Suggested Citation

Aggarwal, Nikita and Floridi, Luciano, Towards the Ethical Publication of Country of Origin Information (COI) in the Asylum Process (October 9, 2018). 30 Minds & Machines 247 (2020) (published version available at Doi.org/10.1007/s11023-020-09523-w), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3263377 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3263377

Nikita Aggarwal (Contact Author)

UCLA School of Law ( email )

Institute for Technology, Law & Policy
385 Charles E Young Drive E
Los Angeles, CA 90095
United States

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

Luciano Floridi

Yale University - Digital Ethics Center ( email )

85 Trumbull Street
New Haven, CT CT 06511
United States
2034326473 (Phone)

University of Bologna- Department of Legal Studies ( email )

Via Zamboni 22
Bologna, Bo 40100
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/luciano.floridi/en

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