The full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which began in February 2022, has led to an exodus of civilians unprecedented in recent European history. Ukrainians were forced to leave their country of origin in search of shelter and legal protection. In this situation, the European Union Member States, including Poland in particular, had to implement extraordinary legal instruments to provide temporary legal protection to third-country nationals, primarily Ukrainian citizens, in compliance with obligations arising out of both international law and European Union law.

The study aims to examine the obligations of states to provide temporary protection and assistance to Ukrainian citizens, under both international law and European Union law. It focuses on obligations arising from international treaties and customary law, and, with regard to European Union law, it analyses the relevant provisions set out in directives and implementing decisions. 

In the context of public international law, the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, are of particular importance. These instruments form the foundation for international protection of individuals forced to leave their countries due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted. The key principle of the 1951 Convention is the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits expelling or returning a person to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened. Although originally codified in a treaty, this principle is now widely recognized as a norm of customary international law. 

However, due to the mass influx of people from Ukraine, classic “asylum” mechanisms proved insufficient, which resulted in the European Union reaching for the instruments set out in Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof. In response to the full-scale Russian invasion, the Council of the European Union adopted Implementing Decision 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 establishing the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine and nationals of other countries covered by the Directive and having the effect of introducing temporary protection.

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