EU Advocate General Opinion in Case C-460/23 Kinsa 

7th November 2024

EU Advocate General Opinion in Case C-460/23 Kinsa

(Area of freedom, security and justice – Judicial cooperation in civil matters – Judicial cooperation in criminal matters)

This reference for a preliminary ruling by an Italian court was made in proceedings relating to the establishment of the criminal liability of OB, a national of Congolese origin, called to answer for the offence of illegal immigration in conjunction with an offence of possession of false identity documents.

Specifically, on August 27, 2019, at the Bologna air border, arriving with a flight from Casablanca, OB presented a false Senegalese passport for herself and two false passports for the two minors she was accompanying, thus performing acts intended to allow the illegal entry of the two minors into Italian territory.

On August 28, 2019, OB was arrested and the two minors (her granddaughter and daughter) were placed in care.

At the validation hearing, OB stated that she had fled the Democratic Republic of Congo to escape death threats made against her and her family by her former partner. She also stated that she had taken the minors with her out of concern for their safety. The preliminary investigation judge validated OB’s arrest and rejected a request to place OB in a detention facility as a protective measure.

On October 9, 2019, OB applied for international protection, and the procedure has not yet been closed.

The relationship between OB and one of the children has also been established, by means of a DNA test. As a result, the defendant’s parental responsibility for one of the minors has been restored, while the other minor can no longer be located.

After taking the evidence requested by the parties and having doubts on the interpretation of Article 52(1) of the Charter in relation to national legislation as well as on the validity of the rules laid down by Directive 2002/90 defining the facilitation of

unauthorised entry, transit and residence and Framework Decision 2002/946 on the strengthening of the penal framework to prevent the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence, the national court decided to refer two questions to the Court for a preliminary ruling.

Background Documents T-460/23

Donnerstag, 7. November 2024

Schlussanträge des Generalanwalts am Gerichtshof in der Rechtssache C-460/23 Kinsa

Strafbarkeit der Beihilfe zur unerlaubten Einreise aus humanitären Gründen

Einer Kongolesin wird in Italien Beihilfe zur unerlaubten Einreise von Ausländern vorgeworfen. Sie hatte bei ihrer Einreise am Flughafen von Bologna nicht nur für sich, sondern auch für ihre Tochter und offenbar eine Nichte falsche Ausweise vorgezeigt. Sie macht geltend, sie sei aus dem Kongo geflüchtet, weil sie Morddrohungen von ihren früheren Lebensgefährten erhalten habe. Die Mädchen habe sie aus Sorge um ihre körperliche Unversehrtheit mitgenommen. Einige Wochen später beantragte die Betroffene internationalen Schutz.

Das italienische Strafgericht möchte vom Gerichtshof wissen, ob es mit der EU-Grundrechte-Charta vereinbar ist, dass die Strafbarkeit wegen Beihilfe zur unerlaubten Einreise nicht entfällt, wenn sie aus humanitären Gründen geleistet wurde.

Generalanwalt Richard de la Tour legt heute seine Schlussanträge vor.

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