A judge in the southern Italian town of Brindisi has questioned the legitimacy of an Italian migration decree, introduced by current Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.

Judge Roberta Marra stated in court that the assumption that the Libyan state constitutes 'a safe port' for migrants "appears to have been denied" by several "elements of fact" that are "cited by national legislation." The judge added that since Libya has not ratified the Geneva convention and the reports of "inhuman and degrading condition" of migrant centers in the country, could be safely seen to "exclude the safety" of Libya as a port of arrival for rescued migrants and asylum seekers.

After passing this judgement, Marra sent the documents of her case to Italy's Constitutional Court to deliberate over the legitimacy of the decree and the statements contained within it.

Judge Roberta Marra in particular asked the court to assess the constitutional legitimacy of legislation named after Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi regulating the management of migrant rescue operations at sea, with specific reference to articles 3, 11, 25, 27 and 117 of the Constitution.

Article 3 of the Italian consitution stipulates that all citizens are equal before the law and should be treated with equal social dignity. Article 117 regards regional legislative power within Italy. Article 11 relates to Italy's role and relations within the international community and its commitment to promoting peace and justice. Article 25 pertains to the defendant's rights and stipulates that their case must be heard before a court. And Article 27 pertains to the rights of the accused, and that everyone should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

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Lawyers for sea rescue organization examine the ruling

The judge's decision was issued as part of an appeal against the seizure by authorities of migrant-rescue vessel Ocean Viking, operated by the NGO SOS Méditerranée, ordered on February 9 by coast guards over alleged violations of the decree.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, October 11, the attorneys representing the NGO in the case, Francesca Cancellaro and Dario Belluccio, analyzed the order. Also present were Giorgia Girometti, who is in charge of communications at SOS Méditerranée, and Filippo Miraglia, who is responsible for immigration for the national association ARCI that supports migrants.

The court's measure focused on key "pillars", said Cancellaro, citing in particular the automatic nature of the 20-day seizure of NGO ships that were deemed to have violated the legislation and the fact that it allegedly fails to abide by the "proportionality and individual nature" that sanctions should have, among others.

Libya should not be considered safe, say lawyers

Another key element, according to Cancellaro, concerns Italy's "international obligations" and the fact that it legitimizes rescue operations carried out by the Libyan authorities which shouldn't be legitimized since Libya cannot be considered a "safe port" and therefore nor should it be "able to coordinate rescue efforts," stated the lawyers for SOS Méditerranée.

According to Girometti, "this decision comes at an important historic moment, in light of new decrees further strengthening measures in the Piantedosi decree".

The other attorney, Belluccio, stressed that further legislation "criminalizing a non-profit activity that is an obligation, like the one involving rescue operations at sea" should not be passed in Italy.

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