Tribunal of Palermo, 25 July 2026

The Tribunal of Palermo (judge Angela Lo Piparo) revoked the decision of the Prefect of Agrigento of 18 June 2026 that authorised a Pakistani national subject to the accelerated border procedure to reside exclusively at the «Sikania Centre» in Siculiana (AG) for a maximum of twelve weeks (Article 5-ter(2) of Legislative Decree 142/2015). The same Prefect's decision is at the origin of the twin complaint R.G. 8695/2026, decided on the same date by another judge of the Division.

By decree of 29 June 2026 the Tribunal had suspended inaudita altera parte, under Article 700 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the enforceable effects of the decision (PDF).

Review of the Tribunal's own motion

Verification of the correctness of the special procedures — now in Section IV of Chapter II of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 — is carried out ex officio and must establish both the conditions and the correctness of the manner of implementation, including the conditions which Article 53 of the regulation provides as exceptions to the border procedure.

Special reception needs

The screening form showed a vulnerability of the applicant (facial hemiparesis, strabismus with photophobia and headache; type II diabetes with acute glycaemic decompensation; aortic insufficiency with interrupted therapy), and the form itself recorded «special reception needs – access to necessary/adequate health care»; a medical examination had found physical signs consistent with the reported assault. Under Article 21 of Regulation 2024/1348 the necessary support must be provided to such applicants and, if it cannot be provided within the procedure, Article 53(2), points (b) and (c), requires that the border procedure not be applied — or be terminated at any stage. In the documents following the screening there is no assessment on the point: once the vulnerability was established, the Administration should have indicated what measures it intended to adopt and why it considered them compatible with the procedure. The Tribunal adds that the categories of Article 24 of Directive (EU) 2024/1346 are not exhaustive and that Article 9 of the directive requires, for decisions imposing residence in a specific place, proportionality and consideration of the individual situation.

Information obligations

It does not appear that the complainant was put in a position to know, in a language he understands or can reasonably be expected to understand, his rights and obligations in the procedure and in the reception system (Article 8 of Regulation 2024/1348, Article 5 of Directive 2024/1346, Article 5-quater of Legislative Decree 142/2015): the form attesting the information refers to electronic content that cannot be verified, in Urdu only the information on screening and Eurodac is available, the decision is drafted in Italian and the notification record lacks a date and any attestation that the content was actually communicated in a language he knows. No proof has been provided of the free legal counselling service. At the hearing the applicant stated that he had not understood the information received, because the mediator did not speak Urdu.

All other issues being absorbed, the decision is revoked «for breach of the obligations of individual assessment and of consideration of special reception needs imposed by national and EU law». Costs are set off owing to the novelty of the subject.

The administrative documents of the same procedure — attestation of the expression of the wish, screening form, determination of the accelerated border procedure, Prefect's decision — can be consulted in the Villa Sikania file.