Court of cassation (Italy), II Civil Chamber, sent. 12 november 2020–24 february 2021, n° 5022

“The ineliminable core constituting the base of personal dignity”: The road-map for the protection of people fleeing the effects of climate change?

Abstract

In the ordinance no. 5022/2021, the Italian Court of Cassation has established the principle of law that trial judges should follow whilst evaluating the presence of serious threats in cases of repatriation to the country of origin, and the consequent vulnerability, that legitimates the need for humanitarian protection. Starting from the principles affirmed by the United Nations Human Rights Committee in the renowned case Ioane Teitiota v. New Zealand, the Court of Cassation establishes that “the ineliminable core constituting the base of personal dignity” represents the basic limit below which the right to life and the right to decent living conditions are not ensured. This limit must not be passed in the case of armed conflict as well as when there is a context that in concreto puts at risk of being breached (or going below the above-mentioned minimum threshold) the fundamental right to life and the paramount principles of freedom and self-determination, including situations of social, environmental or climate degradations, climate changes or the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources.