In the light of the increasing phenomenon of third country mi-gratíon in the Community, a common immigration policy need to be considered as more and more urgent. The lack of Treaty provi-sions awarding competence to the Community with respect to im-mígratíon law and the reluctance of Member States to give up their power on the matter have impeded effective action at Com-munity level and fostered intergovernmental cooperation. In the paper the author examines the case law of the European Court of Justice, firstly with regards to the competence issue and secondly with reference to rights and benefits granted to non-EC nationals by Community law either by virtue of international agreement Be-tween their country of origin and the Community, or as a result of their relationshíp with an EC national. Although the case law of the Court of Justice, aboye all that concerning the direct 'applica-bility of provisions of internatíonal agreements, can be considered as having advanced to some extent, the question of Community competence in this field remains unanswered