The fundamental rights of irregular migrants in the European Union

Essay from the year 2013 in the subject Law - European and International Law, Intellectual Properties, grade: merit, Queen Mary University of London (Law Department), course: LLM, language: English, abstract: This paper examines two fundamental social rights belonging to irregular migrants: the right to work and the right to healthcare. Even though there is a lack of specific legal provisions directly applicable to this social category, the general ones, such as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Political Rights, also concern undocumented migrants. They are analyzed from general to particular taking into consideration broad terms such as “all”, ‘every”, “everyone”, which include the specific category of undocumented migrants. The existent case law, although characterized by scarcity because of the migrants’ fear of being deported when lodging claims in courts, emphasizes the fact that this social category also has rights and these rights are recognized and defended in national and European courts. The obstacles in accessing fundamental rights are also analyzed. The practical implications are taken into consideration. Ideas to improve the exercise of fundamental rights to work and healthcare by irregular migrants are suggested at the end of every chapter. Being human beings, they have the right to social protection regardless of their status.