MPG welcomes landmark EU court ruling protecting migrant families from criminalisation

In a powerful and precedent-setting judgment, the Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand Chamber) has ruled that a person exercising genuine care for minor third-country nationals – such as a mother accompanying her children – cannot be criminalised for facilitating their irregular entry into an EU Member State.

Case C-460/23 involved a third-country national, OB, prosecuted in Italy for bringing her daughter and niece into the country using false documents. The Court found that this act did not constitute a criminal offence under EU law, as OB was the effective caregiver of the two minors. The ruling makes clear that national laws penalising such actions violate the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – specifically Article 7 (respect for private and family life), Article 24 (rights of the child), and Article 52(1) (proportionality of restrictions on rights).

This decision is rooted in the interpretation of Article 1(1)(a) of Directive 2002/90/EC, which defines the offence of facilitating irregular entry. The Court stressed that EU law does not seek to punish individuals who assume their familial responsibilities, even when doing so involves irregular border crossings. Criminal sanctions in such contexts are a disproportionate and unjustified interference with fundamental rights.

MPG welcomes this important legal safeguard for migrant families and humanitarian actors across Europe. The ruling affirms a principle long defended by civil society: that solidarity, care, and protection – especially of children – must not be punished. Member States are now clearly obliged to interpret or amend national laws in line with the Charter to prevent unjust criminalisation of those providing family-based or humanitarian support.

Carmine Conte, MPG’s Senior Legal Policy Analyst, said: “When legal pathways are missing, migrants have to often rely to smugglers or irregular routes to Europe. On Tuesday, the Court rightly affirms that bringing one’s own children to safety cannot be treated as a smuggling crime. Compassion and family ties must not be criminalised. Let’s hope this marks a turning point in EU migration policy. It’s time to end the criminalisation of migrants – and of the NGOs and individuals who offer them support out of solidarity and humanity”.

Judgement of the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (in Italian).