Irregular migration and the international obligation of non-refoulement : the case of the MV Salamis from a Maltese perspective

Abstract

Irregular maritime migration presents a conceptual challenge to states owing to the tension between security interests and control of access to state territory on the one hand, and the fundamental principles of protection of persons on the other. In any maritime interception or rescue operation, migrants are to be treated with the respect to be accorded to all human beings, irrespective of refugee status or otherwise. The judgment of the ECtHR in Hirsi Jamaa v Italy provides a valuable yardstick for assessing interventions at sea and is examined here from a Maltese perspective. A subsequent incident involving both Italy and Malta, the MV Salamis is then discussed, and it will be argued that until a place of disembarkation is definitively established under international maritime law, such incidents will continue unabated.