La portata dell’obbligo di soccorso in mare ai sensi della Convenzione SAR: le sezioni unite sul caso Diciotti

Il contributo analizza i profili più significativi dell'ordinanza della Corte di Cassazione n. 5592 del 2025 relativa alla vicenda della nave Diciotti sotto il profilo degli obblighi di soccorso degli Stati. The Order No. 5992 of the 7th of March 2025 of the Italian Court of Cassation declared that the Italian authorities acted in violation of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 13 of the Italian Constitution refuting for several days the authorization to disembark in the Italian territory of people rescued in the Maltese search and rescue area by the Italian Coast Guard. The Court of Cassation clarified that the obligation of the State responsible for the SAR area to provide assistance to those in danger of life at sea does not exclude that other States Parties to the SAR Conventions are required to take action in the event that the State primarily responsible does not fulfil its obligations. Moreover, the Court of Cassation rejected the interpretation of the obligation to provide assistance as an obligation that would grant the authorities required to carry out the rescue a margin of discretion in determining the moment in which to assign the PoS. According to the Supreme Court the SAR Convention imposes on the State the obligation to ensure a PoS in the shortest possible time.