Questioni di interpretazione e applicazione delle Convenzioni internazionali sulla sicurezza in mare: il fermo amministrativo della nave Sea-Watch 4 al vaglio della giustizia amministrativa siciliana

Since 2020, almost all vessels operated by search and rescue NGOs in the Mediterranean Sea have been inspected and detained by Italian Authorities pursuant to the provisions of the Paris Memorandum on Port State Control and EU Directive 2009/16. The NGO Sea Watch decided to appeal to the Regional Administrative Court of Sicily against the detention of the vessels Sea-Watch 3 and Sea-Watch 4. Although still at a preliminary stage, the legal case concerning the detention of Sea-Watch 4 has already given rise to three important orders: the Regional Administrative Court of Palermo adopted a referral for preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union, followed by an interim order suspending the detention; this second order has been nullified by the Council for Administrative Justice of the Region of Sicily. This last judicial body, unlike the first instance Court, grounded its decision on the SAR Convention, even though this Convention concerns State obligations in the field of search and rescue and does not regulate security standards for private vessels. This paper proposes a critical analysis of the Council decision in the light of applicable international law.