On 3 September 2026, the Fifth Section of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its judgment in B.C. v. Italy (Application no. 42909/23) concerning the deprivation of liberty of an unaccompanied child in a reception centre in Brindisi, Italy.
The applicant, an Ivoirian national, arrived in Italy in August 2023 and expressed his intention to apply for international protection. After being recognised as a minor, he was placed in the C.A.R.A. centre for asylum applicants, which had initially been intended for adults but was subsequently used exclusively to accommodate children. He remained there for approximately two and a half months before being transferred to a facility specifically designated for unaccompanied children. He complained that he had been unlawfully deprived of his liberty and had been unable to challenge his detention, as well as about the conditions of his stay at the C.A.R.A. centre.
In regard to Article 5 ECHR, the Court noted that the applicant was unable to leave the centre and had been placed there without a clear and accessible legal basis or reasoned decision ordering his detention. It therefore found that his deprivation of liberty had been arbitrary. The absence of a legal basis also meant that he could not be properly informed of the reasons for his detention or provided sufficient information to be able to challenge the decision before a court. Consequently, the Court found a violation of Articles 5 §§ 1, 2 and 4 ECHR.
Regarding the conditions at the centre, the applicant complained under Articles 3 and 8 ECHR about the poor material and hygienic conditions, insufficient educational and recreational activities, lack of socialisation and restrictions on leaving the centre. The Court examined these complaints under Article 3 alone and found that the available evidence did not show that the applicant’s situation had reached the level of severity required to constitute inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 3 and declared this complaint manifestly ill-founded.