Handing over migrants rescued in the Central Mediterranean to Tripoli's coast guards is unlawful because Libya is not a safe port and it is conduct which goes against the navigation code, the Cassation Court ruled on February 17. The decision upheld the conviction of the captain of the Italian private vessel Asso 28, which, on July 30, 2018, rescued 101 individuals in the central Mediterranean and then handed them over to the Libyan coast guards to be returned to Libya.

The supreme court judges ruled in sentence number 4557 that facilitating the interception of migrants and refugees by the Libyan coast guards falls under the crime of "abandonment in a state of danger of minors or incapacitated people and arbitrary disembarkation and abandonment of people." This ruling effectively characterizes the 2018 incident as collective refoulement to a country not considered safe, contravening the European Convention on Human Rights.

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NGOs announce class action lawsuit

Beyond its political implications, the Cassation's decision could significantly impact ongoing legal proceedings, including administrative actions. NGOs have announced a class action lawsuit against the government, the interior minister, and the Italy-Libya memorandum.

The case, which was first examined by the tribunal of Naples, focuses on the intervention of a trawler, a support ship for a platform, to rescue 101 migrants who were on a boat that had departed from Africa's coast.

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According to investigators, the ship's commander was asked by personnel on the rig to take on board a Libyan citizen, described as a "Libyan customs official", who suggested sailing to Libya and disembarking the rescued migrants.

The supreme court judges said the defendant "omitted to immediately communicate, before starting rescue operations and after completing them, to the centres of coordination and rescue services of Tripoli and to the IMRCC (Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) of Rome, in the absence of a reply by the first," that the migrants had been rescued and were under his charge.

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The Cassation ruled that, by operating in this way, the commander violated "procedures provided for by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and by the directives of the International Maritime Organization," thus carrying out a "collective refoulement to a port deemed unsafe like Libya."

Furthermore, the Cassation emphasized the commander's obligation to ascertain whether the migrants wanted to apply for asylum and conduct necessary checks on accompanying minors.

'Cassation should not be interpreted ideologically on Libya', Piantedosi

"Italy has never coordinated and handed over to Libya migrants rescued in operations coordinated or directly carried out by Italy," Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said on February 19, when asked to comment the Cassation's ruling. "That sentence must be read well -- sentences should never be interpreted in a political or ideological manner," he said.

Piantedosi contextualized the ruling within the circumstances prevailing in Libya at the time, citing efforts to assist Libya with EU cooperation. He highlighted the government's adherence to principles governing repatriation activities and concluded by saying "there can be no spontaneity" and that "coordination" is essential.

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