CASE OF J.A. AND OTHERS v. ITALY (Application no. 21329/18)
An important judgment was delivered by ECtHR on 30.03.2023 concerning the human rights of Tunisian sea migrants under ECHR.
FACTS OF THE CASE
In 2017, a group of Tunisian sea-migrants arrived in Italy by boat. Upon their arrival, they were taken to a hotspot center on the island of Lampedusa where they were detained for ten days. During their detention, the migrants were subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, including overcrowding, lack of access to basic hygiene facilities, and inadequate food and water supplies.
The migrants argued that their detention was arbitrary and lacked a clear and accessible legal basis. They were not informed of the legal reasons for their detention, and they were unable to challenge the lawfulness of their de facto detention due to a lack of sufficient information.
COURTโS HOLDING
Firstly, the Court found that the migrants were subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment during their ten-day detention in a hotspot centre on the island of Lampedusa. The Court noted that the migrants were held in overcrowded conditions, with limited access to basic hygiene facilities, inadequate food and water supplies, and no access to medical care. The Court found that these conditions amounted to a violation of Article 3 of the Convention, which prohibits torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Secondly, the Court found that the migrants’ detention was arbitrary and lacked a clear and accessible legal basis. The Italian authorities claimed that the migrants had been detained in order to prevent unauthorized entry into the country. However, the Court found that Italy had failed to provide a clear and accessible legal basis for their detention. The Court noted that while no one should spend more than 72 hours in a hotspot centre in principle, many asylum-seekers are stuck there awaiting transfer due to a lack of capacity in reception systems.
The Court also found that the migrants were not informed of the legal reasons for their detention and were unable to challenge its lawfulness due to a lack of sufficient information. This violated Article 5 ยงยง 1, 2, and 4 of the Convention, which protects against arbitrary detention and requires detainees to be informed promptly of any charges against them.
Finally, the Italian authorities violated Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 to the Convention by issuing refusal-of-entry and removal orders without proper regard for the individual situations of each migrant. This provision prohibits the collective expulsion of aliens and requires states to consider each case individually before issuing removal orders.
