The facts as presented by the authors

2.1 The authors submit that their relatives attempted to escape from the serious threats to their lives that they and their children were facing in Syria. On 10 October 2013, the authors’ relatives arrived in Libya and were transported, together with a large group of people mostly composed of Syrian refugees, to a fishing vessel anchored outside the port of Zuwarah, which set out to sea the following day at around 1.00 a.m. The vessel was reported to have carried over 400 people. A few hours after the vessel had set off, it was shot at by a boat flying a Berber flag. Large quantities of water were entering the vessel and one person on the vessel, M.J., called the Italian number for emergencies at sea around 11.00 a.m., explaining that the vessel was going to sink and also informing the emergency operator that there were children on board the vessel. M.J. also forwarded the geographical coordinates of the vessel to the operator who answered the call.

2.2 The first call was followed by several others. The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Rome (MRCC Rome) stated that it received a first call at 12.26 p.m., a second call at 12.39 p.m. and a third call at 12.56 p.m. In one of the distress calls, the persons on board the vessel were reassured by the Italian authorities that they would be rescued. As nothing happened, they called the Italian number for emergencies at sea again at 1.17 p.m. This time, the operator explained that their vessel was in the Maltese search and rescue zone and gave them the phone number of the Rescue Coordination Centre of Malta (RCC Malta).

2.3 Several calls were made from the vessel to the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM Malta) between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., as well as calls made to the MRCC at 2.22 p.m. and 3.37 p.m. The persons on board the vessel were finally told that their vessel had been identified and that rescue units would arrive within 45 minutes. The authors however note that according to a press statement issued after the events, AFM Malta stated that the vessel was not detected until 4.00 p.m., and that the first rescue boat, an AFM patrol boat, did not reach the site of the shipwreck until 5.50 p.m., with an Italian navy ship ITS Libra reaching the location at around 6 p.m. The authors claim that AFM Malta did not contact MRCC Rome for assistance until after the vessel had capsized. They further claim that the Italian naval ship Libra did not receive any instructions to assist the persons on board the vessel until after it had capsized and that it was in fact initially ordered to move away from the vessel, as otherwise it was believed that the Maltese authorities would not have taken responsibility for the rescue efforts. The authors note that, although the exact number of persons who died in the shipwreck has not been established, it has been estimated that over 200 people on board the vessel died, including 60 children.

2.4 The authors claim that the Italian and Maltese rescue centres tried to pass responsibility for the rescue operation to one another instead of intervening promptly. Given that the vessel was in the Maltese Search and Rescue area, MRCC Rome called RCC Malta at 1.00 p.m. informing RCC Malta of the vessel in order to hand over the operation to AFM Malta. According to MRCC Rome, it provided the identity of the closest vessels to the vessel in distress to RCC Malta, including the Italian navy ship ITS Libra and two commercial ships. However, it did not provide RCC Malta with the exact location of the naval ship. At 3.37 p.m. an Italian Air Force officer called the Command of the Italian Navy in order to receive instructions as to what orders to impart to the naval ship, which was closest to the vessel in distress. The authors note that according to interceptions of phone callsFootnote ¹, the naval ship was ordered to move further away from the vessel in distress as, had it been identified by Maltese patrol boats, the latter would have avoided taking charge of the rescue operation. At 4.38 p.m. MRCC Rome requested the Command of the Italian Navy to put the naval ship Libra in direct contact with Maltese authorities. The Command of the Navy did not authorize the request. At 4.44 p.m. RCC Malta requested MRCC Rome to put the Libra at the disposal of the rescue operation. MRCC Rome denied the authorization and invited RCC Malta to look for other solutions, such as the involvement of commercial ships.Footnote ² It was only at 5.07 p.m., after the vessel had capsized, that the naval ship was ordered to intervene and was directed towards the vessel in distress.

2.5 The authors claim that there are no effective remedies available that would enable them to submit their claims to domestic authorities. They note that M.J. submitted a complaint to the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Agrigento about the delayed responses of the Italian and Maltese authorities to his distress calls and the death or disappearance of two of his sons in the shipwreck. However, neither Italy nor Malta initiated any investigation into the circumstances of the shipwreck and the public prosecutor has discontinued the criminal proceedings. The authors further note that A.S. submitted a complaint to the Public Prosecutor of the Court of Syracuse on 15 September 2014. He claimed the disappearanceFootnote ³ of eleven relatives in the immediate aftermath of the shipwreck that occurred on 11 October 2013. From the minutes of the complaint, it would seem that following a previous complaint by A.S. on 6 September 2014, criminal proceedings were opened against unknown persons. However, A.S. did not receive any information about the proceedings or their outcome. After the shipwreck, the author O.I. contacted the Red Cross of Malta, the First Secretary of the Italian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, where she was residing at the time, the Italian Red Cross and UNHCR inquiring about the whereabouts of her brother who had been on board the vessel. As she did not receive any information about her brother, she travelled to Malta and Italy to seek information. G.D. lives in Damascus and has therefore no possibility of filing a complaint before the authorities of the State party. The authors also note that on 17 May 2017, the Italian Government was called to answer questions on the facts which led to the shipwreck in Parliament. However, the Government, represented by the Ministry of Defence, did not address the matter and only stated that MRCC Rome had acted in accordance with international regulations.

2.6 The authors argue that the failure to open an investigation into the facts that led to the shipwreck and the subsequent death or disappearance of persons on board the vessel, including the authors’ relatives, means that they do not have at their disposal an effective remedy in the State party to challenge the authorities’ shortcomings in their rescue activities. The authors further argue that they are not obliged to pursue civil remedies in order to exhaust domestic remedies as their aim is to see those responsible for having put their relatives’ lives at risk and of having caused their death or disappearance prosecuted and punished. They claim that civil action would not satisfy this aim, as such action would only focus on compensatory damages, and would not address the issue of the identification and punishment of those responsible. Even if civil remedies were to be exhausted, these would prove to be ineffective in the absence of any investigation ascertaining the facts surrounding the shipwreck and any related responsibility. The authors argue that without a proper investigation into the shipwreck and the failed rescue operation, they are de facto barred from seeking civil remedies. They also submit that there are special circumstances exempting them from the obligation to exhaust domestic remedies given the scale of the tragedy which gave rise to their complaint. They argue that the Optional Protocol should be applied with some flexibility and without excessive formalities, and they submit that they do not possess the cultural, linguistic and economic means to pursue legal remedies in the State party.

2.7 The authors note that the shipwreck occurred outside the national territories of both Italy and Malta. They however submit that the complaint falls under the jurisdiction of both Italy and Malta as: a) both States are parties to the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR Convention) and as Maltese authorities were responsible for the SAR maritime area in which the vessel was located, while the Italian authorities were exercising de facto control over the Maltese SAR area, as it has often been the only State willing and able to carry out rescue operations in the area; and b) both States parties were in continuous contact with the vessel in distress and activated rescue procedures thus, notwithstanding the severe shortcomings of the operations, exercised control in the SAR area over the persons in distress. The authors argue that, as such, a causal link exists between the lack of prompt rescue activities, the shipwreck and the loss of lives. By acting negligently, or by failing to act, the States parties established a crucial link in the causal chain that caused the shipwreck. The authors note that, in this respect, it has been argued that a distress call has been identified as creating a relationship between the state which receives it, and the person who sends it, and that due to this relationship, the jurisdictional link between the person in danger and the state authorities emerges as a result of the distress call, meaning that the authorities consequently have an obligation to provide emergency services.Footnote ⁴

The complaint

3.1 The authors note that the duty to render assistance to those in distress at sea is a well-established international rule under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).Footnote ⁵ The authors claim that the State party violated their relatives’ rights under article 6 (1) of the Covenant due to the State party's negligent acts and omissions in the rescue activities at sea, which endangered their relatives’ lives and resulted in their death or disappearance. Specifically, they claim that the State party authorities breached their duty to take all appropriate steps in order to safeguard the lives of their relatives by: failing to promptly pass the distress calls from the vessel to the competent SAR authorities, i.e. the Maltese Rescue Center; failing to promptly inform the alleged victims that they should contact the Maltese authorities, thereby delaying the rescue operation; and failing to send the coast guard vessels from Lampedusa or the Italian naval ship located closest to the vessel to rescue the persons onboard, despite a request from the Maltese authorities. The authors submit that by failing to promptly inform the Maltese authorities, the Italian authorities delayed the rescue operation by two hours. They further submit that had the Italian authorities directed the Italian naval ship and coast guard boats to rescue the persons onboard the vessel, these boats would have reached the vessel at 3 p.m. at the latest, i.e. two hours before the vessel sank. They argue that the naval ship ITS Libra could have covered the distance to the vessel in distress in one hour. They further argue that as the vessel was in imminent danger and in need of imminent assistance, and being aware that no other authority was taking action, the Italian authorities should have assumed responsibility for initiating suitable action and should have conferred with neighboring Rescue Centres with the objective of designating one Centre to assume responsibility, in accordance with Chapter 5.3.4.1 of the SAR Convention.

3.2 The authors further allege a violation of their relatives’ rights under article 6 (1) read in conjunction with article 2 (3) of the Covenant as they claim that the authorities of the State party failed to undertake an official, independent and effective investigation into the shipwreck in order to ascertain the facts and identify and punish those responsible for it.

3.3 The authors also claim that their rights under article 7, read in conjunction with article 2 (3) of the Covenant, have been violated as the failure to investigate the death or disappearance of their relatives has caused and continues to cause them anguish, amounting to inhuman and degrading treatment.

State party's observations on admissibility and the merits

4.1 On 15 June 2018, the State party submitted its observations on the admissibility and merits of the communication. The State party submits that the communication should be found inadmissible for lack of jurisdiction, as the shipwreck took place outside the State party's territory. It also notes that domestic judicial proceedings are currently pending.

4.2 The State party notes that, in recent years, a large number of migrants have arrived in Italy. It notes that according to the records of a parliamentary hearing held on 3 May 2017, 23 rescue operations were carried out simultaneously on the day of the shipwreck in question.Footnote ⁶

4.3 The State party further notes that from judicial investigations, telephone records and interviews with witnesses and defendants, the following facts have been established concerning the events of the shipwreck of reference. Once the first inbound phone call, recorded at 12.26 p.m., to MRCC Rome was made from the vessel, MRCC Rome started localizing the satellite telephone from which the call had been made. Following the second phone call from the vessel, and after having received basic information, MRCC Rome informed RCC Malta, at 1.00 p.m., about the incident as the vessel was located in the Maltese SAR area. At 1.05 p.m., RCC Malta responded positively to MRCC Rome's request to formally coordinate the rescue operation. MRCC Rome requested RCC Malta to also provide the said confirmation in writing. This confirmation was received at 2.35 p.m. RCC Malta thus formalized its coordination role, and it informed MRCC Rome that it was sending a patrol boat to the area the vessel had been reported to be in. In the meantime, MRCC Rome also collected information, tried to localize the vessel in distress, kept contact with RCC Malta, and informed the migrants to contact RCC Malta so as to ensure a more direct, immediate and effective rescue operation. Upon RCC Malta's request, MRCC Rome informed the former that it did not have coast guard vessels in the area concerned. However, it informed RCC Malta that an Italian Navy vessel and two merchant ships were present in the area. At 5.07 p.m., RCC Malta informed that the vessel had capsized and it requested the participation of Italian rescue assets. MRCC Rome informed the navy vessel ITS Libra, which was already on its way towards the area concerned, about the shipwreck. It also informed another Italian vessel, the Espero, which headed towards the rescue area. At 6.00 p.m., ITS Libra reached the rescue area and it actively participated in the rescue operation. At 6.30 p.m., RCC Malta appointed Libra as on-scene coordinator of the rescue operation.

4.4 The State party notes that the SAR Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, provides for the obligation to rescue and assist persons at sea, regardless of nationality or legal status. It notes that the SAR convention sets delimitations between States and their respective SAR areas, so as to include – in addition to the respective territorial waters of each State – portions of the high seas, with the identification of a single competent SAR authority for said area. As such, in all circumstances, a single Rescue Centre, which is responsible for coordinating operations in its own area and to which operational choices are reserved must be identifiable. Under the SAR convention, only one authority is responsible for the coordination of rescue interventions in each SAR area. The choice of the most suitable naval vessels and aircrafts mandated to carry out search and rescue operations falls within the prerogatives of the responsible Rescue Centre. The State party notes that in the present case the shipwreck occurred outside its SAR area.

4.5 The State party submits that as the alleged violation of the duty to protect the lives of the alleged victims took place outside Italian territorial waters and outside its SAR area, the facts under review do not fall within its jurisdiction under article 2 of the Covenant and article 1 of the Optional Protocol. It notes that under the SAR Convention, the responsibility for protecting the lives of persons on board a vessel on the high seas belongs to the competent MRCC of the State responsible for that SAR area. The State party argues that in the present case, that responsibility belonged to RCC Malta and it submits that it cannot be argued that Italy would have de facto responsibility over the area concerned merely due to the fact that Italian authorities organize rescue interventions, in an autonomous and non-obligatory manner, in the Maltese SAR area. The State party argues that by establishing its own SAR area, Malta has assumed the power and responsibility to fulfil its own obligations in its own area and it submits that the vessel carrying the migrants was not under the jurisdiction, understood as power and control, of Italy. The State party further notes that the Maltese authorities had made a formal undertaking of coordinating the rescue operation. Malta had also sent, although informed by MRCC Rome that there was an Italian Navy ship in the area, rescue assets to intercept the vessel in distress. The State party argues that Malta had therefore formalized its intention to exercise its jurisdiction of the rescue operation and had in fact exercised it. The State party notes that the Italian Navy vessel ITS Libra also intervened in the rescue operation, even before a formal request from Malta, and it became the focal point of the rescue operations, thus saving many lives.

4.6 As concerns the merits of the communication, the State party notes that a very complex judicial investigative procedure has been opened into the incident. It notes that the process has involved different tribunals and has been carried out with the aim of “verifying the modus operandi of all the assets involved in the general international scenario, including over six months before the tragic events and thus, not only with specific regard to the case under reference”. The intervention at the level of the Supreme Court has also been necessary, in order to establish whether the investigation should fall under the competence of military or ordinary courts. The Supreme Court has determined that the investigation falls under ordinary jurisdiction before the Rome ordinary Tribunal.

4.7 The State party notes that investigations into the events of the shipwreck were initiated after a complaint was filed on 11 April 2014, at the Consulate of Italy in Frankfurt, Germany, which was transmitted to the Palermo Public Prosecutor's Office in Sicily. Additional complaints have subsequently been lodged by family members of victims of the shipwreck and by some of the persons who had survived the shipwreck. The Siracusa Public Attorney's Office filed a motion of dismissal with regard to one complaint on 27 February 2017. Following transfer of proceedings from the Agrigento and Palermo Public Attorney's Offices to Rome, the Rome Public Attorney's Office has filed motions of dismissal concerning two complaints on 3 April and 18 July 2017. Following an additional complaint, a third criminal proceeding has been initiated in Rome. This proceeding is ongoing and the complainants were notified about their right to participate in a pre-trial hearing that, at the time of the submission of the present observations, was to take place on 29 October 2018. In the course of the proceedings, charges have been brought against officers from the Italian Navy, the Harbour Master Corps-Coast Guard and personnel on duty at MRCC Rome. The charges include the criminal offense of failure to provide assistance and negligent homicide. The State party notes that the authors of the communication are not parties to the pending proceeding as they did not file this complaint. It notes that the investigation into the shipwreck has been complex due to the high number of stakeholders involved and the difficult reconstruction of facts. The State party argues that the investigations undertaken by the domestic authorities have been thorough, prompt, and effective, and it notes that the aim of the ongoing proceeding is to determine the responsibilities, if any, of persons involved in the events of the shipwreck.

Authors’ comments on the State party's observations on admissibility and the merits

5.1 On 15 October 2018, the authors submitted their comments on the State party's observations. They maintain that the communication is admissible. They reiterate their argument that the Italian authorities are exercising de facto control over the Maltese SAR maritime area and that it therefore bears responsibility for the failed rescue operation that occurred on 13 October 2013. Regarding the State party's information that judicial proceedings are ongoing, the authors argue that these have been unduly delayed considering the fact that, at the time of the submission of their comments, five years have passed and the investigations have not yet been completed. They also argue that the State party authorities have failed to involve them, as next of kin, in the criminal proceedings. They note that the initial complaints regarding the incident were dismissed by State party's authorities and they claim that it was only after a newspaper published information on the events of the incident that two officers have been charged with criminal offences.

5.2 The authors note the State party's claim that the first distress call was received by MRCC Rome at 12.26 p.m. on 11 October 2013. They reiterate their claim that the first call from the vessel in distress was made at 11.00 a.m. They however note that, in any event, it is undisputed that MRCC Rome received the first distress call from the vessel and that under section 3.6.1 of the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual (IAMSAR Manual) it was under the duty to immediately notify the appropriate RCC about the incident and to take all necessary action to co-ordinate the response until the responsible RCC had assumed responsibility. The authors note that RCC Malta did not formally assume the duty to coordinate the rescue operation until 2.35 p.m. The authors further claim that the coordinates of the vessel in distress had already been provided to MRCC Rome in the first distress call at 11.00 a.m., and that the Italian authorities did not therefore need to spend any time localizing the vessel.

5.3 The authors reiterate their claims that MRCC Rome failed to promptly inform RCC Malta of the vessel in distress and that it failed to provide them with assistance as it only informed RCC Malta of the presence of an Italian naval ship and two commercial ships in the area, but failed to provide RCC Malta with the name and position of the naval ship. They also reiterate their claim that the naval ship was ordered to move away from its position in order to avoid participating in the rescue operations.Footnote ⁷ When the Maltese authorities had identified the presence of the naval ship in the area and sent a request to MRCC Rome for the ship to proceed towards the vessel in distress, this request was refused by MRCC Rome which informed the Maltese authorities that the naval ship was conducting surveillance operations in another area and was therefore unable to reach the requested area. Radio calls made minutes before the shipwreck from AFM to the naval ship also remained unanswered. The authors submit that the State party authorities therefore failed in their duty to cooperate with Maltese authorities in order to save lives in distress at sea.

5.4 The authors note that they do not claim that the Italian authorities should have assumed coordination of the rescue operations, rather their complaint is focused on the Italian authorities’ failure to provide assistance to the Maltese coordinating authorities, by not putting the ITS Libra naval ship immediately at the disposal of the rescue operation, thereby failing to provide prompt aid to persons in distress at sea.

State party's further observations

6. On 4 July 2019, the State party submitted further observations on the communication. It referred to its submission of 15 June 2018 and informed that the judicial proceeding concerning the events of 13 October 2013 are still ongoing. It notes that the latest pre-trial hearing was held on 24 June 2019, and that the next one had been scheduled for 9 July 2019.

Issues and proceedings before the Committee

Individual Opinion of Yuval Shany, Christof Heyns and Photini Pazartzis (dissenting)

1. We do not agree with the majority's decision that the tragic events described in the communication fell with the jurisdiction of Italy for the purposes of establishing its obligations under the Covenant and admissibility under the Optional Protocol.

2. Paragraph 7.8 of the Views explains that a “a special relationship of dependency” had been established between the victims found on the vessel in distress and Italy, which engaged Italy's obligations under the international law of the sea pursuant to Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) RegulationsFootnote ¹ and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR)Footnote ². As a result, the majority considered “that the individuals on the vessel in distress were directly affected by the decisions taken by the Italian authorities in a manner that was reasonably foreseeable in light of the relevant legal obligations of Italy, and that they were thus subject to Italy's jurisdiction for the purposes of the Covenant, notwithstanding the fact that they were within the Maltese search and rescue region and thus also subject concurrently to the jurisdiction of Malta”. We are of the opinion that the majority Views fails to distinguish between situations in which states have the potential to place under their effective control individuals who are found outside their territory or areas already subject to their effective control, and situations involving the actual placement of individuals under effective state control. Only the latter situations establish jurisdiction for the purposes of the Covenant and the Optional Protocol.

3. As the Views explain in paragraphs 7.7-7.8, the vessel in distress was located throughout the relevant period of time (between the initial call for rescue and capsizing) outside Italy's territorial waters and inside the search and rescue area of Malta. The preliminary question before the Committee in the case at hand was whether the victims on the vessel could be considered to have been within the power or effective control of Italy, even though the incident took place on the high seas, in an area for which Malta assumed search and rescue legal responsibilities. It has not been claimed before the Committee that Italy formally accepted legal responsibility for the search and rescue mission before the capsizing nor that it assumed de facto control over the operation.

4. Although initial contact was made between the vessel in distress and the MRCC in Rome, this fact alone, in the absence of additional information showing acceptance of legal responsibility, is not sufficient to conclude that the State actually exercised jurisdiction over the individuals on board the vessel from that moment onwards or was legally obliged to do so. In particular, it is significant that Italy did not actually coordinate the search and rescue operation, but rather referred the distress call to the competent authorities in Malta, and that the latter confirmed in writing Malta's coordinating role with respect to the search and rescue operation undertaken. While the Italian authorities supported the search and rescue efforts of the Maltese authorities by sending an Italian Navy vessel, ITS Libra, to the area (albeit too late), the vessel in distress did not become under the effective control of an Italian Navy party before 6:30 pm on the day of the sinking (more than an hour after it had capsized), at which time ITS Libra arrived at the scene and became the on-site coordinator of the rescue operation.

5. While there may have been critical failures in the response of the MRCC in Rome and the Italian Navy to the distress calls and to the Maltese requests for assistance that contributed to the tragic loss of life of large numbers of victims, such failures do not establish in and of themselves effective control by Italy over the individuals on the vessels in distress, regardless of whether or not such failures entail criminal responsibility under Italian law or a violation of Italy's law of the sea obligations vis-a-vis Malta and other states, This is especially the case in circumstances where the said individuals are located in an area for which another state has assumed legal responsibility – and by implication, jurisdictionFootnote ¹ – under the law of the sea for search and rescue operations. Since Malta, and not Italy, was responsible de jure or de facto for the overall conduct of the operation, we do not consider it appropriate to hold Italy accountable under the Covenant for failing to deploy more quickly Italian vessels which would enable it to assume earlier de facto responsibility over the search and rescue operation.

6. We further consider that the approach taken by the majority of collapsing the ability to engage in a maritime operation in search and rescue areas for which another state is internationally responsible with the notion of jurisdiction over the individuals on vessels in distress might disrupt the legal order which the SOLAS and SAR Conventions attempted to introduce, with a view to minimizing the “tragedy of the global commons”, generated by the lack of a clear division of labor between coastal states over search and rescue operations. So, while the approach taken by the majority could be suitable to govern the obligations of states in areas for which no state is internationally responsible for search and rescue operations (so as to avoid ‘negative’ jurisdictional conflicts), it is inappropriate for areas where such a responsible state is available and is in fact assuming its responsibilities (and might generate ‘positive’ jurisdictional conflicts).

7. As a result, we are of the view that given the primary responsibility of Malta for the search and rescue operations in the relevant maritime area and the mere supportive role of the State party, the Committee should not have concluded that that the victims on board of the capsized vessel fell before, or at the time of capsizing, under the jurisdiction of Italy for the purposes of the Covenant and the Optional Protocol, and that the Committee should have therefore considered the communication to be inadmissible pursuant to article 1 of the Optional Protocol.

Individual Opinion of Andreas Zimmermann (dissenting)

1. This dissenting opinion has to be read in conjunction with my separate opinion in the parallel case 3043/2017 against Malta involving the same facts. The contents of said separate opinion are therefore to be considered incorporated hereinafter unless otherwise stated. At the outset it must be reiterated, however, that the mere fact that a person did find him- or herself in a SAR zone administered by a given State party of the Covenant does not bring that person within the jurisdiction of such State party for purposes of Art. 2 (1) ICCPR. This result must then a fortiori be reached where there does not even exist such a legal bond which, in the perspective of the majority, had triggered the applicability of the Covenant vis-à-vis Malta at the first place.Footnote ¹

2. It is my clear understanding that Italy, by refusing to have its naval ship ITS Libra undertake a rescue operation to save the lives of the persons in distress at sea, was violating its obligations under applicable rules of the law of the sea. Yet, this was neither the question that was before the Committee nor what the Committee had to decide, nor indeed could the Committee have decided this very issue. Even less is it, contrary to what the majority seems to at least imply, of any legal relevance for purposes of Art. 2 (1) ICCPR whether Italy is exercising criminal jurisdiction on the basis of the Italian nationality of the naval officers on board the ITS Libra or any other Italian officials.

3. What is more, and what adds to the problématique of the majority decision, is that the majority also finds in this case against Italy that the authors were “subject concurrently to the jurisdiction of Malta” despite having found the complaint against Malta inadmissible. At the same time, Italy is now required to provide full reparation to individuals whose Covenant's rights have been violated despite the fact that another State may have caused the tragic loss of lives and despite the fact that, as the majority also finds, the principal responsibility for the rescue operation (and hence in the majority's view also the violation of the rights protected by the Covenant) had been lying with Malta rather than with Italy. Besides, the determination as to Italy's obligation to pay compensation further leaves open the difficult issue which form of responsibility is incurred by both States, if at all, i.e. whether it is proportionate liability only or rather joint and several liability.

4. Finally, the Committee attempts to limit its holding when stating “that in the particular circumstances of the case, a special relationship of dependency had been established between the individuals on the vessel in distress and Italy” which then triggered, in the majority's view, the applicability of the Covenant. It is however safe to assume that the outcome of both cases, i.e. the Maltese and the Italian case, when read together, will be perceived as providing for a general applicability of the Covenant as far as persons are concerned that find themselves in distress at sea either in the SAR zone of a State party or close to a ship flying the flag of a State party. This might, as I have already mentioned, eventually have the very unfortunate effect of States parties of the Covenant no longer be willing to undertake such obligations, respectively might even try to avoid coming close to boats in distress so as to avoid any impressions of a ‘special relationship of dependency’ having been created.

Individual Opinion of David Moore (dissenting)

1. The admissibility determination in this case presents two key questions. The first, and primary, one concerns the scope of States parties’ Covenant obligations. Under the Covenant's text, a State party's obligations extend to “individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction.” Art. 2(1). The Committee has interpreted this phrase in the disjunctive. See General Comment No. 31 (2004). While strong arguments exist for a conjunctive interpretation, it is unnecessary to revisit those to resolve this case. No one contends that Italy's territory extends to the high seas. The question thus becomes whether those shipwrecked were within Italy's jurisdiction.

2. That question raises a secondary issue: the propriety of relying on international instruments beyond the Covenant in Covenant interpretation. Policy reasons, such as harmonization, support interpreting the Covenant consistently with other sources of international law. Yet the Committee's jurisdiction only extends to interpreting a particular treaty to which States have consented. In my view, the principles of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, whether as treaty or customary international law, should inform the Committee's resort to non-Covenant sources in Covenant interpretation.

3. The Vienna Convention instructs consideration of “[a]ny relevant rules of international law applicable in the relations between the parties.” Art. 31(3)(c). Here, many States parties to the Covenant, including Italy and Malta, are also parties to the SAR Convention, which provides for division of the high seas into search and rescue regions assigned to particular states. This arrangement, specifically focusing on the division of responsibility and control, suggests that Italy's Covenant jurisdiction should extend, at most, to individuals within its region.

4. The Committee's decision to find jurisdiction outside that region in this tragic case reflects noble intent, particularly given Italy's questionable actions. Yet I fear the decision adds a layer of uncertainty, and even apprehension, regarding responsibility on the high seas that may hinder, rather than sharpen, the response to future emergencies. I would find the communication inadmissible.

Individual opinion of Gentian Zyberi (concurring)

1. While agreed with the decision of the Committee, I want to clarify the jurisdictional link and the legal obligations on the part of States regarding search and rescue at sea (SAR) operations, especially concerning refugees and migrants.

2. This specific case and the relevant legal framework demonstrate the shared responsibility among States for SAR operations. While a State has primary responsibility for its SAR area, there is a residual responsibility on all States to provide assistance, especially to those States with limited own capacities.

3. The jurisdictional link in SAR operations is generally based on the international legal obligations of States to render assistance to persons in distress at sea, read in light of article 6 of the Covenant. Paragraph three of General Comment 36 states that the right to life “concerns the entitlement of individuals to be free from acts and omissions that are intended or may be expected to cause their unnatural or premature death.” The concepts of “power and control” which are commonly used regarding extraterritorial jurisdiction have to be construed and interpreted in light of the specific circumstances at sea. When assessing issues of State responsibility concerning SAR operations aimed at saving persons in distress at sea, the due diligence requirement is an obligation of conduct, requiring a State to make best efforts within the means available.

4. In failed SAR operations that result in lives lost, the State has a procedural obligation under article 6 of the Covenant to start ex officio a prompt and effective investigation to find out what happened and where necessary hold those responsible to account.

Individual opinion of José Santos-Pais (concurring)

1.  I agree with the decision reached by the Committee finding a violation by Italy of article 6 (1) read in conjunction with article 2 (3) of the Covenant.

2. This is a complex case, involving concurring and shared international jurisdiction by several States (Italy, Malta and possibly Libya). However, the main question is whether victims were within the power or effective control of Italy, even though the incident took place outside its territory (para 7.7). Also, whether, under relevant international instrumentsFootnote ¹, Italy failed to provide assistance to rescue of persons in distress at sea.

3. Vessel in distress was 61 miles south of Lampedusa and 118 miles southwest from Malta, so closest to Italian shore. According to Italian Minister of Defense,Footnote ² ITS navy ship Libra was just 15 miles away from the vessel (less than 1-hour distance). So, Libra was the closest ship, but instead of offering to provide direct assistance or to place itself at the disposal of the competent Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Malta), it omitted to do so.Footnote ³

4. MRCC Rome received a first call at 12.26 p.m. and a second at 12.39 p.m. and was then informed the vessel was going down, there were children on board and there was a need for urgent intervention. Exact position of the vessel was given to Italian authorities. Several other contacts ensued with increasingly more urgent requests (at 1.17, 1.38, 2.22, 3.37 p.m.).

5. Contact with RCC Malta by MRCC Rome was established at 1.00 p.m. but no information was given either about the dangerous situation of the vessel and its exact location or of the close location of Libra and its contacts. Maltese authorities only located the vessel around 4 p.m.

6. At 1.34 p.m. MRCC Rome issued a navigational warning to all shipping in the vicinity to assist. At 2.30 p.m. RCC Malta did the same. Libra did not respond to either warning.

7. Italian navy command was informed at 1.35 p.m. of the position of the vessel and number of people on board. However, at 3.34 p.m., navy command instructed Libra not to come close to the vessel and avoid being spotted in the area. Same order was repeated at 3.41 p.m.

8. Following identification of Libra by AFM aircraft, after 4 p.m., RCC Malta requested Libra to proceed and assist since vessel had been observed to be overcrowded and unstable. Libra however did not answer emergency calls by Maltese airplane which went on for 2 minutes.

9. At 4.38 p.m. MRCC Rome requested Command of Italian Navy to put Libra in direct contact with Maltese authorities, which was authorized at 4.41 p.m.. At 4.44 p.m. RCC Malta again requested MRCC Rome to put Libra at the disposal of the rescue operation. MRCC Rome denied authorization. It was only at 5.07 p.m., after vessel had capsized, that Libra was ordered to intervene (5h30 after the first emergency call), arriving there at 5.57 p.m., after AFM patrol boat, which arrived 6 minutes earlier.

10.  So, not only did Italian naval authorities refuse to act when they were still the First RCC responsible for coordinating the case and issued the first navigational warning, they consistently omitted valuable information to Maltese authorities and kept deliberately Libra, the closest ship, away from intervening in rescue operations until after the shipwreck.

11. I therefore consider individuals on the vessel in distress were under Italy's jurisdiction for the purposes of the Covenant (paras 7.5-7.8). Furthermore, there was a failure by Italian authorities to explain convincingly motives for not providing timely assistance under such pressing circumstances, thus affecting lives of so many people (para 8.5).

12. Charges were brought against officers from Italian Navy, Coast Guard and MRCC Rome, involving at least 7 officers, for failure to provide assistance and negligent homicide. Seven years after events, trial before domestic courts has yet to be completed, an excessive time delay for an effective and prompt justice. State party has provided no clear explanation for such delay, other than a general reference to complexity of the case and gave no anticipated timeline for its completion (paras 8.6 and 8.7).

Individual opinion of Vasilka Sancin (concurring)

1. I agree with the Views of the Committee that the individuals on the vessel in distress were directly affected by Italy's decisions in a manner that was reasonably foreseeable in light of the relevant legal obligations of Italy, and that they were thus subject to Italy's jurisdiction (concurrently to the jurisdiction of Malta) for the purposes of the Covenant, and that the Committee was therefore not precluded by article 1 of the Optional Protocol from considering the present communication. I also fully agree with the Committee's finding of a violation of article 6, read alone and in conjunction with article 2 (3).

2. However, I wish to emphasize that in my view, since the tragic events took place in the high seas, where, according to the law of the sea, neither Italy nor Malta may exercise any territorial jurisdiction, other than over the vessels flying their flags (and in circumstances exhaustively envisaged in the Law of the Sea Convention, e.g. in a case of piracy), the issue of compatibility of the communication under article 1 of the Optional Protocol 1 ratione loci, establishing whether the individuals were subject to State Party's jurisdiction, applying the maxim of ‘power or effective control’, is intrinsically linked to the right engaged – the right to life. The Committee emphasized (para. 7.5), referring to its general comment No. 36 (2019), that States parties must respect and protect the lives of individuals who find themselves in a situation of distress at sea, in accordance with their international obligations on rescue at sea (emphasis added).

3. It is for this reason, that I find in this complex case, that the communication is admissible, although events occurred in the area of the high seas, considering the facts and particular circumstances of this case (para. 7.7), as the authors sufficiently demonstrated that Italy had a power to act upon its international duties (to render assistance to a vessel in distress under article 98 UNCLOS and to assist Maltese authorities in its SAR area), led the victims to believe (particularly within the first hour(s)), that it will comply with these duties, and that such necessary activities could have directly and in a reasonably foreseeable manner impacted the events. By this assumption of its obligation to exercise the existing power in the concrete case, in my view, Italy subjected the victims to its jurisdiction, but due to its omission to act accordingly failed to protect their lives, and, later on, properly investigate the incident, which resulted in a violation of the authors’ rights.

Individual Opinion of Hélène Tigroudja (concurring)

1. I fully support the solution reached by the majority. The views are a first contribution of this Committee aiming at addressing some “Maritime Legal Black Holes.”Footnote ¹ They may provide some substance to a new “right to be rescued at sea”.Footnote ² However, as developed in my concurring opinion of the communication No. 3043/2017, the legal reasoning followed by the majority is not perfectly rigorous. I will not repeat what I have written on the unreasoned decision to split the two cases and on the use of a body of law that is not updated. My main remark on these views is focused on the question of the extraterritorial jurisdiction exercised by Italy (para. 7.8). I am not fully convinced by the way the majority solved the question (para. 7.8). There is a mix up between substantive obligations and the existence of a jurisdictional link with Italy. More importantly, the grounds for establishing this jurisdictional link are unclear and I regret that the majority did not respond clearly to the arguments presented by the authors in their complaint, based on the Munaf v. Romania jurisprudence, which were more convincing than what is retained in paragraph 7.8.