P.H. and Others v. Italy (application no. 25838/19) [20.05.2019]

 

Subject:The European Court of Human Rights decided to apply an urgent measure in the case P.H. and Others v. Italy (application no. 25838/19) concerning three Bosnian citizens of Roma ethnicity who were evicted with their minor children from a settlement in Ponte Riccio in April of this year.

The applicants are three Bosnian citizens of Roma ethnicity who were living with their families in a settlement in Ponte Riccio (Giugliano). Two of them are mothers with 10 children altogether, who

are minors aged between two and 16.

On 5 April 2019 the Mayor of Giugliano issued Decree no. 29, ordering that all the settlement’s inhabitants be evicted for reasons of public health and safety. That order was carried out on 10 May.

The applicants currently live with their families in an improvised campsite in an industrial area outside Giugliano.

On 16 May 2019 the applicants made a request to the Court under Rule 39 of its Rules of Court for an interim measure to require the State to provide them and their families with adequate

accommodation and to suspend any further eviction.

The Court adjourned its examination of the request until 17 May 2019 after asking the parties to submit information.

As it was not clear from the Government’s response to the Court’s questions whether the applicants had been rehoused, the Court decided to apply an interim measure indicating to the Italian

Government that it should provide temporary accommodation for the minors involved and their parents, without separating them.

 

Measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court are decided in connection with proceedings before the Court, without prejudging any subsequent decisions on the admissibility or merits of the case. The Court grants such requests only on an exceptional basis, when the applicants would otherwise face a real risk of irreversible harm. For further information, see the factsheet on interim measures.