In Hirsi Jamaa and Others v. Italy (Grand Chamber, 23 February 2012), the European Court of Human Rights held that Italy violated the European Convention on Human Rights by intercepting migrants at sea and returning them to Libya without assessing individual protection needs.
The judgment is widely cited as a landmark ruling against maritime “pushbacks” and collective expulsion, clarifying that human-rights obligations apply extraterritorially when a State exercises effective control (including on vessels). It has been central to debates about Europe’s border practices and accountability in the Mediterranean.