Dublin II in Italy
last update August 2010
In Italy the situation of refugees in Dublin-II cases is difficult, but some lawyers have been successful in avoiding deportation, especially to Greece. Last year, several organizations for refugees’ rights denounced the situation at Adriatic Italian ports, where many migrants are sent back to Greece without any chance to apply for asylum. (This denial of asylum proceedings is not grounded in the Dublin II agreement, but an illegal police practice!). Asylum seekers may be detained in prison for several months during the proceedings in Italy, for instance if you don't have a passport or if you have already been expelled. In most cases, though, asylum seekers can wait for the decision about their status without being imprisoned.
If you get to Venice you can come here:
Razzismo Stop Venezia
Via Fratelli bandiera 45,
30175 Marghera (Ve)
E-mail: razzismostop_ve(at)globalproject.info
UNHCR Information on Dublin II transfers especially to Greece - Abstract Italy
last update: UNHCR, 16/06/2010
In Italy, the Italian Council of State (Consiglio di Stato, the supreme administrative court) on 3 February 2009 upheld the appeals of three Afghan asylum-seekers. The court suspended their transfer to Greece “in light of the harm feared by the claimant[s], which appears to be serious and irreparable having regard to the situation described in the report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on 15 April 2008”. As a result, the competent body will assess the claims in light of Article 3(2) of the Dublin II Regulation. There were similar court decisions in the past by lower courts. In one, for instance, the Tribunal explicitly mentioned UNHCR positions and argued in particular that “the problems related to the Greek asylum system, already detected by UNHCR since November 2007, imply that the assessment made by the Administration considering Greece as a ‘safe third country’ is not adequately reasoned; UNHCR’s recommendations should thus have led the Administration to carry out a more in-depth assessment of the applicability to the case in question of Article 3(2) of the EC Regulation 343/2003”.23 The February 2009 decisions by the Consiglio di Stato are particularly important, however, as they come from the higher national Rome-based administrative court.