The paper tries to portray refugees as a very important problem in international law, a problem, which can create profits and losses for involved countries in many areas. For example, the expenses for refugees are rising, but human capital is also growing. It depends on the policy of a given country whether it can effectively use the human capital or wheter only the social costs for the country are created. Sometimes international law obligation is not enough to convince society that accepting refugees is right decision. The article will focus on how and with which legislation tools it can be done and whether it is effective or not, as well as how the united world helps people who are in danger. Are those supportive organs doing it correctly or not, whether enough is being done or whether it should be done in a different way. The paper is focused more on the European Union administration than on other places. The paper consists of the following sections: who is a refugee — a legal description, non-governmental organizations, international administration — UNHCR, EU administration created to help refugees, the Treaty of Lisbon and refugee policy. Those chapters attempt to explain the legal basis of the refugee protection system in the Western world. The practice of refugee policy and the execution of this law is a completely different thing.