Judges at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Thursday that Italy could not be held responsible for the actions of the Libyan Coast Guard, dismissing a case brought by migrants involved in a deadly 2017 shipwreck in the Mediterranean.
The court declared the case inadmissible, ruling that Italy did not have "effective control" over the waters off Tripoli where the vessel, carrying approximately 150 people, sank. Twenty people died in the incident, and around 45 survivors reported being taken to the Tajura Detention Center in Tripoli, where they alleged abuse and beatings.
The court found that the captain and crew of the Libyan vessel Ras Jadir acted independently when responding to the distress call in the early hours of November 6, 2017.
Since 2017, Italy has provided Libya with funding, vessels, and training under an agreement aimed at reducing Mediterranean migrant crossings. However, the judges determined that this cooperation did not prove Italy had assumed "Libya’s public-authority powers."
A separate group of migrants from the same incident was rescued by the humanitarian organization Sea Watch and taken to Italy.
Had the court ruled in favor of the 14 survivors who filed the complaint, it could have disrupted agreements between several EU nations and countries like Libya and Turkey to curb migration to Europe.
The ECHR adjudicates cases involving the 46 member states of the Council of Europe—an intergovernmental organization established after World War II to promote democracy and human rights. Notably, Libya is not a member, placing its actions outside the court’s jurisdiction.
The decision reinforces the legal boundaries of international migration agreements while leaving unresolved the broader humanitarian concerns surrounding Libya’s treatment of migrants.