The Italy-Albania Migration Protocol: Externalised Border Governance and Rights Protection in the European Union (Published)
The Italy-Albania Migration Protocol is a new type of migration externalisation, involving extraterritorial processing of asylum claims and the exercise of Italian jurisdiction over migration centers in Albania. This article critically evaluates the Protocol from the perspective of constitutional law, international human rights law and European migration governance, with particular focus on the decision of the Albanian Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of the Protocol. It examines the legal implications of overlapping Albanian and Italian jurisdictions and highlights outstanding concerns related to territorial sovereignty, access to justice, effective remedies, detention and protection of asylum seekers under Albanian, Italian, EU and European Convention on Human Rights standards. The article also examines the legal basis cited for the Protocol and the difficulties arising from the extraterritorial application of Italian law in Albania. The Protocol exposes a core contradiction in the externalisation of migration control: while migration management functions may be displaced territorially, the obligations of states to ensure fundamental rights and effective judicial protection cannot. The Italy–Albania deal thus constitutes a critical test case for the changing relationship between migration externalisation, state sovereignty, jurisdiction and human rights protection in Europe. The article warns that jurisdictional ambiguity and accelerated procedures for migration can weaken effective rights protection unless accompanied by accessible judicial remedies and strong institutional oversight.
Keywords: EU migration policy, Human Rights, Italy-Albania Migration Protocol, State Sovereignty, access to justice, asylum governance; extraterritorial jurisdiction;, migration externalization