Strasbourg's ‘Hidden Agenda’?: The Protection of Second-Generation Migrants from Expulsion under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights

Abstract

International human rights standards play a minimal role in regulating state sovereign discretion over the entry, residence and exit of non-nationals. Recent jurisprudence of the European Commission and Court of Human Rights has afforded some protection to second-generation migrants against expulsion from their country of residence if their right to respect for their private and family life is infringed under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. These interventions by the Strasbourg organs in favour of one of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in Western Europe today are welcome and timely, but they should be developed into clear, uniform and unambiguous legal principles. Such principles may be extracted from a number of separate opinions in the case law of the Court and the Commission revealing a normative ‘hidden agenda’ aimed at the protection of second-generation migrants. Given present restrictive nationality laws, tighter immigration controls and the racist violence directed at foreigners on the continent, this agenda must be articulated unambiguously by the Strasbourg organs if second-generation migrants are to receive the full protection of the Convention.