The New UN Convention in Light of the German and Turkish Experience

In: International migration review: IMR, Volume 25, Issue 4, p. 831-847

Abstract

The legal situation of migrant workers in the Federal Republic of Germany was basically regulated by the Aliens Act of 1965, which was replaced by a new Act in 1990. The original Aliens Act gave considerable amount of discretionary power to the administration. The High Court practice, by using the basic principles of the German Constitution regarding basic rights, as well as the rules of some international agreements, recognized the stable conditions of those migrant workers who had been staying in the country for a long time. As a result their legal situation came closer to the international level. The new Act safeguards these established rights to some extent, but brings restrictive provisions for the newcomers, emphasizing that Germany is not an immigration country. As a result of rising hatred against foreign workers within the country, there is, at the moment, a possibility that existing rights will be limited through a narrow and restrictive way of interpretation of the laws.