T.A.R. per la Liguria, judgment no. 155 of 24 February 2022: Reception revocation - Cannot be inflicted if it deprives the applicant from the satisfaction of his most basic needs
The Regional Administrative Tribunal for Liguria annuls the revocation of the reception measures ordered by the Prefecture of Imperia pursuant to Article 23 of Legislative Decree 142/15.
In particular, the TAR refers to the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (judgment 12 November 2019 C 233 - 18) which affirmed the following important principle:
"Article 20(4) and (5) of Directive 2013/33, read in the light of Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, must be interpreted as meaning that a Member State may not provide, among the sanctions that may be imposed on an applicant in the event of serious breaches of the rules of the reception centres as well as seriously violent behaviour a sanction consisting in the withdrawal, even temporarily, of material reception conditions, within the meaning of Article 2(f) and (g) of that directive, relating to accommodation, food or clothing, since that would have the effect of depriving the applicant of the possibility of meeting his most basic needs".
The Judge explained: "In the light of the Court's ruling, this judge must disapply the Italian provision of art. 23, paragraph 1, letter e) of Legislative Decree 142/15 insofar as it provides for the possibility to withdraw the reception measure in case of serious violations or seriously violent behaviour. In the present case, the appellant was responsible for the conduct envisaged by the aforementioned provision as described in the contested measure. And, however, the European legislation precluded the adoption of a revocation measure so that, after disapplying the conflicting Italian rule, the measure must be annulled'.
Prof Avv. Paolo Iafrate
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