The Italian Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione) is changing its stance on the decree on cooperation with Albania, causing serious repercussions for the Italian government. Regarding the migrant reception center in Gjiandri, Albania, and more generally the operational structure provided for in the Rome-Tirana agreement, the highest judges are now asking the Court of Justice of the European Union to rule on the legality of the operation.
The content of the preliminary reference, sent yesterday to the Court of Justice of Luxembourg in the form of two requests, is of particular importance, as for the first time the European judges are being asked to examine whether an asylum mechanism outside the territorial borders of the European Union is compatible with Union law.
The Italian Court of Cassation expresses serious reservations as to whether Operation “Albania”, through which the facility in Yader is assimilated to the Italian Detention Centers for Repatriation, complies with European regulations and the fundamental guarantees of human rights provided for by EU law.
The full justification for the decision is expected to be submitted in the coming days, but this provisional position is already having a strong impact and may even cause division within the Italian judiciary. Until this legal limbo is resolved, it is unlikely that the judicial authorities will approve the transfer or detention of migrants in facilities within Albanian territory.
The court of cassation intervened Following Two recent decisions of the criminal Chamber A, Presided over by giuseppe De Marzo And rapporteurs daniele cappuccio And Carmine russo. These Decisions Relate to appeals by the ministry of The Interior in the cases of two migrants whose detention Request had Been rejected by the court of appeal In rome. the two men were Already detained in albania and had applied for international protection, which made the italian appeals fall to naught.
The Court of Cassation froze the proceedings and referred two crucial questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union: whether the Rome-Tirana agreements are compatible with European directives and whether they guarantee the rights of asylum seekers. The first question concerns the compatibility of a specific provision of Law 14/2024, which ratified the relevant cooperation protocol. This law allows the detention of immigrants without “pre-determined prospects” of repatriation, which is in contradiction with EU Directive 2008/115. The second question concerns the respect of the fundamental right of the asylum seeker to remain on the territory of the state in which he submitted his request. The main legal issue is that Albania is not part of Italian territory.
