THE European Court of Justice (ECJ) is to assess the legitimacy of Italian and EU laws that have been used to criminalise asylum-seekers, along with activists who have rescued and support them, across the continent.

Lawyer Francesca Cancellaro filed a constitutional compliant against article 12 of Italy’s Immigration Act, which criminalises the facilitation of unauthorised entry of foreigners into the country, during the trial in Bologna of a Congolese woman who used forged documents to enter Italy with her daughter and niece in the hope of receiving asylum in Europe.

Both the Italian legislation and the EU anti-smuggling law that underpins it have been used to criminalise refugees who steered the boat or car they arrived in, even if they did this under duress, and to prosecute activists for saving refugees’ lives.

Ms Cancellaro’s complaint argues that both laws violate the fundamental rights of refugees and those working in solidarity with them, so they conflict with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Italian constitution.

The judge agreed today to refer Ms Cancellaro’s complaint to the ECJ as a matter of urgency. If it is accepted, proceedings can be expected to begin within the next six months.

“Our objection is that the European regulation, and consequently the Italian one that transposes it, does not include the intention to make a profit as a constitutive element of the offence,” Ms Cancellaro said.

“And, at the same time, it does not oblige member states to exclude the responsibility of those who act out of altruistic and humanitarian reasons.”

Ms Cancellaro is also defending four refugee rescuers who saved over 14,000 lives in the Mediterranean between 2016 and 2017 using the ship Iuventa.

The four activists are currently facing preliminary criminal proceedings in Trapani while the prosecution tries to decide what to charge them with.

Kathrin Schmidt, one of the Iuventa defendants, said: “European courts are still contributing to the ever-increasing death toll in the Mediterranean.

“The racist and violent implementation of neocolonial interests needs to stop once and for all.”