Resumen de Detention of irregular migrants and the European Public Order

Nicholas Hatzis

• The Treaty of Amsterdam created the legal basis for the adoption by the European Union of measures concerning illegal immigration. The Returns Directive provides for common procedures for the removal of irregular migrants, including pre-deportation detention. In a series of recent judgments on detention, the Court of Justice explored how the objective of dealing effectively with unauthorised immigration can be reconciled with the need to protect migrants' basic rights. This article discusses the interpretation of the relevant rules by the Court and examines how two important features of the EU public order - the priority of security in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, and the existence of multiple sources of human rights protection - bear upon the issue of immigration detention.