Immigration, personal liberty, fundamental rights

This volume brings together the contributions of the participants in the research project ‘Immigration, personal freedom and fundamental rights’, sponsored by the Faculty of Law of the University of Urbino ‘Carlo Bo’. The discipline of fundamental rights for immigrants, which is extremely broad and fragmented, is the subject of reflection from different perspectives. Firstly, the research focuses on European legislation, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights (as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights), the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union) and the relevant EU directives. From the European legal framework, the study moves to the Italian legal system, starting with an analysis of the Italian Constitution. The Constitution guarantees non-citizens rights similar to those of citizens in criminal and judicial matters, particularly in terms of individual liberty, access to justice and legal representation, including the right to language assistance, which is the focus of this research. However, it is the domestic legislation that presents a worrying scenario, both because of its lack of conformity with the European framework and because of significant shortcomings, particularly in relation to individual liberty. In particular, administrative detention of foreigners is a measure that falls outside the criminal justice system, is often characterised by inadequate legal safeguards and is used as a means of controlling and reducing migration. In light of the problematic legal framework examined by the Authors, interpretive solutions are proposed and recommendations for reform are made to ensure greater respect for the fundamental rights of all individuals.