The Migrant Flows Decree received a green light in the Italian Senate on December 4, with 99 votes in favor, 65 against, and one abstention, thereby becoming law. However, it failed to receive approval by the judicial branch (CSM). In a non-binding opinion, the CSM rejected what has been dubbed the "Musk rule", a provision to give appeals courts the power to rule on the detention of migrants.

According to the CSM, this measure would create delays, putting the targets set by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (a plan for Italy's economic recovery) at risk. It also warned that magistrates "lacking the adequate competencies" would be required to make decisions about complex matters.

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'Musk rule' introduced in the Decree

The decision to introduce this rule in the Decree had been taken in response to the lack of approval by the Court of Rome concerning the transfer of migrants to Albania. The transfer was not approved due to incompatibility with European legislation.

The Migration Flows Decree includes a list drawn up by the Meloni government of "safe countries" for repatriation, but some of these, such as Egypt, Bangladesh, and Morocco do not coincide with countries considered safe by the European Union. The EU Court of Justice has been asked to rule on the issue, but a judgment is not expected until April, 2025.

Following the decision of the Rome Tribunal, on October 18, the US billionaire Elon Musk wrote on social media "Those judges must go!" The shift of responsibility from specialized sections of Tribunals to the appeals courts thus became known as the "Musk Rule."

The Court of Cassation has postponed its decision, perhaps to wait for the decision of the EU Court of Justice.

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'They want to punish us'

The Migration Flows Decree was roundly criticized by the opposition and NGOs. The founder of the party Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi, accused the majority of "a narrative aimed at propaganda," while all the representatives of the Five Star Movement decried "the failure of the Albanian model." They pointed to the low number of migrants taken from Italy to Albania: "19, instead of the 8,000 arrivals in Italy in November 2024 alone."

The leader of the Green Alliance in the Senate, Peppe Cristofaro, recalled how the Meloni government intervened "17 times in two years on the issue of migrants. It is a true obsession and shows a poor record."

The head of the PD Group in the Constitutional Affairs Committee, Andrea Giorgis, said that he was "open to a public confrontation" on the issue.

The majority group in the Senate struck a different tone, with leader Maurizio Gasparri insisting that migrants arrivals had "decreased by 60 percent since the Meloni government has been in power." Paolo Tosato, a Senator from the League party, stated that "15 percent more repatriations," while the president of the Constitutional Affairs Committee, Alberto Balboni of Brothers of Italy, talked about "100,000 irregulars in less than two years," and attacked the NGOs "for having transformed sea-rescue into a lucrative business."

In a joint statement, the NGOs said the Migration Flows Decree has a punitive effect on them and makes it "a crime to conduct rescues at sea."

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