untitled design

Mixed guidance from the EU court on rescuing migrants at sea

The European Union’s highest court ruled today that a member state’s port authorities can seize boats rescuing migrants, but only if they can prove there is a real risk to health, safety or the environment.

German NGO Sea Watch appealed against the seizure by Sicilian port authorities of two of its boats that had rescued migrants in the Mediterranean and taken them to Sicily in 2020.

Italian judges hearing the appeal have asked the European Court of Justice for guidance on the case which goes to the heart of the dispute over what the response should be to tens of thousands of people who attempt the perilous sea journey from Africa each year.

Sea Watch, which patrols the Mediterranean to rescue migrants in danger — a practice some states say encourages immigration — argues that port authorities overstepped their authority by impounding the boats.

Authorities at the Sicilian ports of Palermo and Empedocles claimed at the time that they searched and seized the boats because they were carrying more than the permitted number of people and were not registered for search and rescue operations, the court heard.

The Luxembourg-based court said port authorities have the right to search and seize ships in certain circumstances, although the mere fact that a vessel is carrying people it has rescued at sea does not provide a sufficient basis for doing so.

“The number of people on board, even if it is more than what is allowed, cannot, therefore, be the basis for a search,” the court said in a statement.

He hinted, however, that regularly conducted search and rescue operations using ships certified to transport cargo — as in the case of Sea Watch vessels — could be sufficient grounds for port authority controls.

Sea Watch welcomed the ruling, saying it provided legal certainty for NGOs and was “a victory for sea rescue”.

“The fact that port state controls can continue to take place on NGO ships is a good thing,” he said. “They are intended to ensure the safety of the ship, which is important to us. Arbitrary controls, on the other hand, must finally come to an end.”

There is currently no reaction from the Sicilian port authorities.

The court’s decision presents the current state of European law on the matter. But it is up to the Sicilian court to decide whether the special circumstances in these cases justified the actions of the port authorities.

About 61,000 people have completed the journey this year and 938 are estimated to have died during it, according to figures from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR.

SOURCE: APE-ME

Source: Capital

You may also like

Get the latest

Stay Informed: Get the Latest Updates and Insights

 

Most popular