"Marriage of convenience": a controversial, hardly demonstrable phenomenon or an efficient instruments of migration policy?

Abstract

The title of the thesis poses the question of whether the notion of marriages of convenience is just a social construct expressed in legal terms which insufficiently, and in very simplistic way, tries to lay down means for combating the phenomenon of marriage migration, and thereby impersonating a threat to the highest social value of human rights. Or have the states succeeded in addressing the issue of marriages of convenience by adopting effective and efficient measures combating marriages contracted for the sole aim of circumventing national immigration laws? The aim of the thesis is not to recommend any particular measures that should be adopted by the states. The aim is through analysing the case law of the, predominantly, European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice to indicate such measures that could/can have the effect of violating human rights. The first two chapters introduce the concept of “marriages of convenience” and its various modifications among the states together with a brief overview of the Community legislation showing the obvious difficulties arising from the implementation of the measures into practice. Third chapter indicates national measures aimed at combating marriages of convenience, and analyses the existing jurisprudence on human rights with a view to either demonstrate, or indicate possible abuses of human rights by such measures.