On 18 September 2024, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) heard the case of Mansouri v. Italy. The case concerns the legality and circumstances of a Tunisian citizen’s detention on board an Italian ship; the application was initially filed at the European Court on 28 October 2016.

In May 2016, the applicant was denied entry to Italy at the Palermo maritime check-point while on board an Italian cruise ferry, on the grounds that he did not possess a valid Italian residence permit nor a valid visa. Having resided in Italy on a work permit between 2014 and 2016, the claimant presented the border police his passport, his expired residence permit, and a copy of his long-term residence permit application submitted on 16 October 2015. The border police found that the competent Italian police headquarters (Questura) in Ferrara had rejected the residence permit application at the end of March 2016, and therefore concluded that Mansouri did not possess adequate authorization to enter and stay in the country. The border police then ordered his repatriation under Article 10 § 1 of Italian Legislative Decree no. 286 of 1998 (Immigration Consolidated Act). The applicant was kept in a ship cabin under constant surveillance for seven days. Since no formal order was issued, the applicant could not oppose the return measure, which was carried out coercively not by the Italian police, but by the cruise ship captain.  

Calling on ECHR Articles 5 (right to liberty and security), 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), and 13 (right to an effective remedy), the plaintiff argues that he was illegitimately deprived of personal liberty on board and subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment during the trip back to Tunisia. Moreover, he complains that there was no national redress claim available.   

The case was previously relinquished by the first instance Chamber under Article 30 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). According to Article 30 of the ECHR, an allocated Chamber may relinquish a case to the Grand Chamber when either the resolution of the case is potentially unaligned or in contradiction with the case-law of the Court, or when the resolution would bear potential implications for the interpretation of the Convention or its Protocols. The Grand Chamber is asked to clarify its position with regard to Art. 10 of the Italian Immigration Consolidated Act, which establishes the refusal of entry of foreigners, but does not foresee administrative detention measures. The ECtHR has addressed this issue especially in the case of  Khlaifia and Others v. Italy (2016) and in the Hirsi Jamaa and others v. Italy judgment (2012).

The Court will deliberate in private and the decision will be taken by the majority of the 17 members of the Grand Chamber. The judgment is expected to be adopted in 2025.