Doubts about the detention of migrants in the Cpr in Gjader to the EU Court
Protocol between Italy and Albania on Strengthening Cooperation in Migration Matters under scrutiny by Euro-Judges
4' min read
4' min read
The Court of Justice has the floor. The Court of Cassation, first criminal section, with order no. 23105 filed on 20 June, requests the intervention of the Euro-Judges for a clarification on some provisions of Directive 2008/115 on common standards and procedures applicable in member states to the return of third-country nationals whose stay is irregular, with the aim of ascertaining a possible substantial incompatibility of Article 3 of Law 2024 no. 14 (which gave execution to the Protocol with Albania) with EU rules.
The Italy-Albania protocol on strengthening cooperation in migration matters, which allows people who are the recipients of validated or extended detention orders to be taken to Albania "in the absence of any predetermined and identifiable prospect of return", does not convince the Supreme Court and so it has sent a request for an interpretation of the EU rules asking for urgent intervention.
The cases examined
.The referral order concerns the cases of two foreign citizens,one Tunisian and one Algerian, dealt with jointly for common profiles. In the first case, it was the prefect of Ancona who ordered the expulsion, with accompaniment to the border, with a procedure that began on 16 September 2024. The measure was based on the Tunisian citizen's illegal entry into the territory and some offences committed during his stay. However, after the application for renewal of the residence permit had been rejected, repatriation had not been possible: there was no plane available and a valid document was missing. For him it had been ordered, and validated, first the transfer to Bari's CPR, followed by the transfer to the Gjader repatriation centre, where the Tunisian citizen had applied for international protection. An application rejected by the Territorial Commission that excluded a risk of persecution in case of return to the country of origin.
On 24 April 2025, the Court of Appeal of Rome, in a decision that gave rise to the order of referral by the Court of Cassation, did not validate the detention of the Questore. According to the territorial court, in fact, a foreigner who submits an application for protection has the right to remain in the territory of the State until it is examined. Hence the need to return the Tunisian citizen to Italy.
The procedure and conclusion was similar in the case of the Algerian citizen, also the recipient of an expulsion order for having presented himself at the border in Genoa. The invitation to leave the country within seven days had not been heeded, nor had it been possible to proceed with expulsion without a valid document. So, the way had been the same as for the Tunisian citizen: Bari's CPR, then departure on Viminale's order towards Gjader in Albania, and the Court of Appeal's refusal to detain him on similar grounds.
