Brussels, August 1 (BNA): The European Union’s High Court ruled today, Monday, that national maritime authorities cannot seize ships involved in search and rescue work on suspicion that they may be overburdened due to the number of migrants recovered from the sea. The Associated Press (AP) reported.
The European Court of Justice ruling came in response to an appeal by German migrant aid organization Sea-Watch. Two of the German group’s ships were forced to undergo inspections in Sicily in 2020 after disembarking migrants because they took too many people on board.
Italian port authorities also deemed the ships unaccredited for search and rescue missions.
But the court said that rescued persons “should not be taken into account when checking whether safety rules at sea have been complied with. Thus, the number of people on board the ship, even if it is greater than the authorized number, cannot constitute , in and of itself, a basis for censorship.”
The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice also said that national port authorities have the right to inspect ships to assess whether rules on working conditions, health, safety and the environment are being respected.
But, she added, they “do not have the authority to require proof that those ships hold certificates other than those issued by the flag state,” which in the case of the Sea-Watch ships is Germany.
Sea-Watch called the court’s decision a victory that meant port authorities could not arbitrarily detain ships and prevent them from doing their job.
“The ruling provides a clear legal guarantee for NGOs and is considered a victory for maritime rescue. In the future, ships will continue to do what they do best: rescue people rather than arbitrarily falling into port,” the organization said in a tweet on Twitter.
Neither the European Union nor any of its 27 countries are actively looking for people at risk in the Mediterranean, where more than 1,000 people have died or gone missing so far this year, many of whom have tried to reach Europe from North Africa in unseaworthy smugglers. boats.
But ships are obligated under international law to respond to any distress call in their vicinity.
Most migrants heading to Europe hope to reach their families or find work, but many are denied asylum because they fled poverty rather than persecution or war.
Immigration is a major issue in the early Italian parliamentary elections on 25 September. Right-wing League leader Matteo Salvini has promised to take a tough line on immigration if his party comes to power in a centre-right coalition.
AOQ