Navigating justice: Syrian migrant workers’ battle with the informal laws and economy in Turkey

Latif Tas

doi:10.35295/osls.iisl.2831

Autores

Latif Tas Aberystwyth University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.2831

Palavras-chave:

migrants, informal labour, informal justice, Alienation, gender, Istanbul

Resumo

More than two billion people worldwide work in the informal economy without regulation or legal protection. Many of them work in the service sector, the textile and construction industries, and as domestic help. Migrant workers operating in these contexts, particularly those with precarious legal status, often face significant barriers to accessing formal justice mechanisms. As a result, informal dispute resolution frequently becomes the primary means of addressing grievances such as underpayment, exploitation and gender-based violence. This article addresses this gap by examining informal justice practices among Syrian migrant workers in Istanbul. Drawing on qualitative case studies, the article shows that exclusion from formal legal and economic systems not only pushes migrants into informal labour markets but also compels them to rely on community-based and often non-state forms of justice. The findings highlight the complex relationship between informality, alienation and justice.

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Biografia do Autor

Latif Tas, Aberystwyth University

Dr. Latif Tas is Associate Professor and 150th Anniversary Award Winner at Aberystwyth University, Department of Law and Criminology, in the UK. Previously, Dr. Tas was awarded a Marie-Curie Global Fellowship and invited to be a member at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at Princeton. His books include Legal Pluralism in Action (2016) and Authoritarianism and Kurdish Alternative Politics: Governmentality, Gender and Justice (2022). Dr. Tas has a record of research and publications on social justice, conflict and peace, governance, authoritarianism, gender, migration, diaspora, transnationalism, alienation and social mobilisation in the Middle East and Europe. Email Addresses: lat43@aber.ac.uk / latiftas@yahoo.com

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