UK immigration law under attack and the direct application of article 8 ECHR by the ECJ

Immigration law might be wrongly perceived as a field where the so-called doctrine of purely internal matters applies with virulence. Between 2002 and 2003, UK immigration law has been the object of three preliminary rulings referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The ECJ has already delivered two judgments, i.e. Carpenter (July 2002) and Baumbast (September 2002). Similarly, the Opinion of the Advocate General (AG) in Akrich (February 2003) concerns an identical issue and thus appears of interest.