Two recent rulings have raised questions about the effectiveness of the ‘Safe Countries’ decree, reigniting the conflict between politics and the judiciary over the issue of migrants. Judge Luciana Sangiovanni, president of the immigration section of the Rome court, has decided to suspend the territorial commission’s denial of an asylum request filed by one of the twelve migrants transferred to Albania. She has also referred the matter to the European Court of Justice, requesting an urgent response following the intervention of the Italian government.
The Court of Catania has denied validation of the detention ordered by the police chief of Ragusa for a migrant from Egypt who requested asylum in Pozzallo. The court noted that a list of ‘safe countries’ does not exempt the judge from the obligation to verify the compatibility of such a designation with European Union standards. The judge stressed that “in Egypt there are serious violations of human rights” that threaten fundamental freedoms.
“This is the first ruling after the decree law on safe countries,” commented the lawyer Rosa Emanuela Lo Faro, the migrant’s lawyer. In his ruling, Judge Massimo Escher declared irrelevant the question of constitutional legitimacy raised by the applicant for protection. He highlighted that the inclusion of Egypt in the list of ‘safe countries’ does not exclude the obligation to verify its compatibility with European law. According to Escher, Egypt does not meet the necessary requirements.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini reacted to the court’s decision by saying: “Because of some communist judges … the unsafe country is now Italy." He denounced the current situation as unsatisfactory. Giuseppe Santalucia, president of the ANM, commented on the decision of the Catania Court, observing that it represents one of the possible interpretative approaches in the context of European Union law. He added that intolerance towards the judiciary is growing, involving the entire jurisdiction and not only the prosecutors. These developments highlight a complex and evolving landscape regarding the management of migration issues in Italy.
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