Hirsi and Others v. Italy – Relinquishment of jurisdiction to the ECtHR Grand Chamber

There is a notice on the European Court of Human Rights web page dated 1 March 2011 stating the following:

“The Chamber dealing with the case of Hirsi and Others v. Italy has relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber. The applicants, 11 Somali nationals and 13 Eritrean nationals, were part of a group of illegal migrants who left Libya by boat heading for the Italian coast. The application concerns the interception of their boats on the high seas and their immediate return to Libya on board Italian naval vessels.”

Previous history of the case:

On 17 November the Second Section of the European Court of Human Rights communicated the case of Hirsi and others v Italy, Requête n^o 27765/09.  The case was filed on 26 May 2009 by 11 Somalis and 13 Eritreans who were among the first group of about 200 migrants interdicted by Italian authorities and summarily returned to Libya under the terms of the Libya-Italy agreement which took effect on 4 February 2009.  The Applicants were intercepted on 6 May 2009 approximately 35 miles south of Lampedusa.

Click here for previous post on the case.

More details on this development later.