Nationality and Freedom of Movement

The aim of the paper is to outline, in the absence of a comprehensive international legal regime which governs international migration, how the intertwining of conventional and customary rules applying to the movement of people permits a normative balance between individuals’ right to freedom of movement and sovereign authority in this matter. The distinction among nationals and aliens is the necessary starting point when considering international migration. In fact, as sovereignty includes the ‘right to exclude’, the nationality link is the prime criterion to determine who cannot be excluded from the community, i.e., from the territory of the state.