No Benefit - Germany's section 96 in light of the Kinshasa Referral

Abstract

On January 18, 2024, the German federal parliament (Bundestag) passed the controversial Repatriation Improvement Act which de facto criminalises humanitarian support for entry by land as well as entry of minors by sea, land, and air. The German provision resembles both in wording and substance Article 12 of the Italian Consolidated Immigration Act (TUI) whose compatibility with EU law the CJEU is set to rule on, following a preliminary reference procedure initiated in July 2023. While the effect of a pending referral is uncertain, in the current case, the German government should have suspended its legislative process.

Keywords

• Criminalization of Humanitarian Work
• Kinshasa Case
• legislation
• migrant rights
• Referral to the ECJ