The Vassalli ship with seven migrants from Egypt and Bangladesh, who were taken to the Italian centre of Gjader in Albania last Friday (November 8), reached the Puglia port of Brindisi after midnight on Tuesday (November 12).

The immigration section of Rome's tribunal, had been asked to validate the migrants' detention in Albania on Friday. However, the court decided to suspend judgement and refer the case to the European Court of Justice. The court's actions meant that the Italian authorities could not detain the migrants more than 48 hours and so they were forced to sail them back to Italy to have their asylum claims heard there.

In a previous decision on October 18, regarding the first group of 12 migrants held at the facility, the court nixed the group's detention based on an October 4 ruling of the European Court of Justice.

Read AlsoItaly: One migrant returned from Albania, others expected to return

Salvini brands decision: 'another political sentence against Italians'

Following that decision in October, the Italian government quickly passed a decree to try and make the list of so-called "safe countries" legally stronger. They hoped, with their decree to rule out the lists of exceptions that currently operate even for many countries on the "safe" list. Previously, European courts had said that a country cannot be considered "safe" if certain parts of that country, or certain categories of people from that country might be considered unsafe in certain circumstances.

Similar to the former Conservative government in the UK, the Italian government hoped by declaring in law that a country was safe, the exceptions would not have as much weight and would not then obstruct their plan to hear the asylum claims of non-vulnerable males from these so-called safe countries in Albania instead of in Italy.

The courts though, are still questioning the mechanism of the accelrated border procedures.

Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini once again accused magistrates of issuing "another political sentence" as he had characterised a previous similar ruling as the work of allegedly politically motivated judges acting against the interests of Italians.

"Another political sentence not against the government, but against Italians and their safety. The government and parliament have the right to react to protect citizens, and they will do so," said the hardline anti-migrant former interior minister and leader of Italy's League party (Lega).

Read AlsoItalian government's Albania plan is mired in legal challenges and criticism

Judges respond

The judiciary's union, the National Association of Magistrates (ANM), said the new legislation, which states that courts need to rule based on the decree rather than on the European Court of Justice's sentence, is "incompatible with European Union legislation" and it was the court's duty on Monday to refer the case to the EU court.

The interior ministry for its part said it would attend the ECJ hearing to press its case for the migrants to be processed in Albania.

Now all attention is focused on December 4, when the supreme Cassation Court will rule on the possibility judges have to act autonomously or whether they have to abide by the list of 19 safe countries drafted by the cabinet, which includes the countries of provenance of the two groups of migrants taken so far to Albania - Bangladesh and Egypt.

Read AlsoECJ issues opinion on Italian migration case

Opposition defends Rome court

Meanwhile, on the opposition front, the center-left Democratic Party (PD) said the government had "made a blunder" and that trying to "circumvent the law doesn't pay off."

"The only effect is condemning exhausted people, who arrive in Europe to flee violence and discrimination, to new extenuating journeys and transfers," said PD lawmaker Debora Serracchiani.

"A cruel and shameful choice that is causing huge damage to the State's finances", she exclaimed, adding that the Rome court had applied national legislation "impeccably", which "cannot disregard European law." Usually, EU law is regarded as being above national laws.

Enrico Borghi, a whip in the Senate for the centrist Italia Viva party, and also in the opposition, demanded an explanation from the cabinet. "We have police officers controlling nothing in Albania while they should be here in Italy to control public order in front of schools and on the street," he stated.

Read AlsoItaly: Bologna tribunal refers safe countries decree to EU court

Attacks and counter attacks

Meanwhile in the Senate the conservative party whip for ruling coalition partner Forza Italia, Maurizio Gasparri, called magistrates "subversive." Senators in the opposition populist Five-Star Movement responded talking about an "attack against the pillars of the republican order."

According to Angelo Bonelli, spokesperson for Green Europe and an MP with the Green and Left Alliance in the opposition, said the "the government is consciously violating the law because it wants to open a conflict with the judiciary in order to continue to call members 'communist judges.'"

Filippo Miraglia, who is in charge of immigration policies for national cultural association Arci, which works closely with migrants and migrant rights organization, meanwhile remarked that, "as expected, the seven hostages of [Premier Giorgia] Meloni's government in Albania have been released."

Miraglia added that the government should "cancel" the protocol with Albania and "stop using the State as a propaganda tool."