This book provides insight into the realities of, and right to, asylum from the frontiers of refugee law, as observed by a key practitioner, academic and policy-maker in the field. The book combines expert analysis and first-hand testimony. Written by one of the giants in the field, the first Belgian Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, it blends the professional and the personal, to give a candid, compelling account of how asylum law has developed over the last quarter century. It looks back at some of the key cases of asylum, but also forward, suggesting how Europe might address current challenges such as deportation and regularisation. All lawyers, practitioners and policy-makers in the field of refugee law and policy will find this required reading.