FIFTH SECTION
CASE OF A.T. AND OTHERS v. ITALY
(Application no. 47287/17)
 
 
 
 
JUDGMENT
 
 
 
 
 
 
STRASBOURG
23 November 2023
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of A.T. and Others v. Italy,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
 Stéphanie Mourou-Vikström, President,
 Lado Chanturia,
 Mattias Guyomar, judges,
and Sophie Piquet, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to:
the application (no. 47287/17) against the Italian Republic lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on 5 July 2017 by thirteen applicants, whose nationalities are indicated in the appended table, and were represented by Mr D. Belluccio, a lawyer practising in Bari;
the decision to give notice of the application to the Italian Government (“the Government”), represented by their Agent, Mr L. D’Ascia;
the observations submitted by the Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicants;
the comments submitted by Defence for Children International, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the AIRE Centre, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and the Dutch Council for Refugees, all of which had been granted leave to intervene by the President of the Section;
Having deliberated in private on 19 October 2023,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
1. The case concerns the applicants’ detention in the Taranto hotspot and the poor conditions of accommodation there. The Taranto Early Reception and Aid Centre (Centro di Soccorso e Prima Accoglienza – CSPA) was designated as an Italian hotspot pursuant to section 17 of Decree-Law no. 13 of 17 February 2017. 2. The applicants reached the Italian coast aboard a makeshift vessel on 22 May 2017. They alleged that they had declared that they were minors. The applicants were then transferred to the Taranto hotspot. Their photographs and fingerprints were taken and, on 23 May 2017, they requested international protection. 3. On 13 July 2017, after the applicants had submitted a request to the Court under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, applicants Mr I.C., Mr M.J. and Mr K.I.S. were transferred to facilities for unaccompanied minors. Mr A.T. was transferred to a facility for minors on 15 July 2017. 4. It appears from the information provided by the Government, which had been transmitted to them by the Taranto Juvenile Court, that on 28 July 2017 the Juvenile Court decided that Mr I.C., Mr M.J. and Mr K.I.S. should be taken into the care of the social services of the municipality of Taranto and that a legal guardian should be appointed for them. 5. No information was provided by the Juvenile Court as to Mr A.T. It appears that the public prosecutor did not submit any request in respect of him, as he had been transferred to a region which was not under the jurisdiction of the Taranto Juvenile Court.

Article of the Convention at issue: Article 5
Outcome: violation