The provisions regard the detention of asylum seekers during the examination of their request for international protection.
Specifically, judges of the joint civil sections issued two interlocutory orders requesting the European court to give an urgent ruling on the requirement that asylum seekers from countries that are considered safe pay bail of just under 5000 euros to avoid being detained while awaiting for the outcome of their application.
The request came during examination of interior ministry appeals against rejections by the court in Catania of detention orders issued for Tunisian asylum seekers in Sicily.
The detention orders were applied in line with the so-called Cutro migrant decree.
This piece of legislation was drawn up in the wake of the February 26, 2023, shipwreck off Cutro in Calabria in which 94 refugees and migrants are known to have died.
It provided for the detention of asylum seekers from so-called safe countries of origin for the duration of the asylum procedure unless they paid 4938 euro in bail.
The provision was contested by Judge Iolanda Apostolico and other judges of the specialised immigration section of Catania court.
They rejected orders for asylum seekers from Tunisia to be detained at a new pre-removal facility in the Sicilian port city of Pozzallo on grounds they contravened a 2013 European directive laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection.
The decisions drew strong criticism from the government, with Apostolico in particular finding herself at the centre of a political storm.
Italy currently considers 16 countries to be safe: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Erzegovina, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Morocco, Montenegro, Nigeria, Senegal, Serbia and Tunisia.
ANSA
