Legal Aanalysis on possible illegitimacy profiles regarding the recent decision of the Italian Government to reintroduce controls at the Italian-Slovenian border
On October 18th, the Italian government communicated to European institutions and associated countries the reintroduction of border controls at its internal border shared with Slovenia. The reasons given to justify this measure, which is intended to be adopted as a last resort, include the increased threat of violence within the territory of the Union following the crisis in the Middle East and the consequent risk of terrorist infiltrations. This picture is further complicated by the constant migratory pressure to which Italy is allegedly subjected.
In reality, the Italian-Slovenian border is a boundary where the government has long resorted to procedures – already declared illegitimate by national courts – such as informal readmissions and an increasingly developed use of police cooperation instruments. An evident example is the recent trilateral summit on November 2nd in Trieste, involving Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia. In this institutional meeting, the parties decided to establish trilateral joint brigades to mutually support each other in countering irregular immigration and to create shared coordination centers.
This contribution aims to highlight possible illegitimacy profiles related to the restoration of border controls at the Italian-Slovenian border, focusing particularly on aspects such as duration and motivations, in light of the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It also examines the potential negative impact that border controls may have on the fundamental rights of migrant individuals. Specifically, concrete risks emerge concerning access to the territory, the right to international protection, the right to receive adequate information, the prohibition of refoulement, the right to receive a decision, and the ability to access an effective remedy. Furthermore, the document underscores possible illegitimate operational conflicts between border rejection procedures and bilateral readmission and transborder police cooperation.
Foto di Luemen Rutkowski su Unsplash
