Expulsion order annulled: the Justice of the Peace of Turin strikes down the 'photocopy' decree and protects the right to seek asylum
March 28, 2026 | Studio Legale Oltre
The Justice of the Peace of Turin, Immigration Section (Judge Eliana Zecca), with judgment of 28 March 2026 (R.G. 7399/2024), upheld the appeal represented by lawyer Elena Garelli of Studio Legale Oltre, annulling the expulsion decree issued by the Prefect of Turin in March 2024 against a Peruvian woman. The decree had been adopted while the applicant had for months been trying, in vain, to formalise her application for international protection at the Turin Questura, despite numerous documented visits to its offices and a formal certified email from her lawyer, all without result.
The Judge annulled the measure on three independent grounds. First, the reasoning was merely apparent and standardised — to the point that it was not even worded in the feminine — in breach of Article 3 of Law 241/1990 and of the obligation of a “case-by-case” assessment under Article 13(2) of the Consolidated Immigration Act. Second, the applicant’s irregular status derived from force majeure: the impossibility of formalising the asylum application was attributable to the unlawful practice of the Questura, and the application — formalised only in May 2024 after an urgent action under Article 700 of the Code of Civil Procedure — in any event renders the expulsion unenforceable under Article 7 of Legislative Decree 25/2008. Finally, the decree breached the prohibition of refoulement under Article 19(1) and (1.1) of the Consolidated Immigration Act: the detailed allegations of the risk of persecution in Peru linked to sexual orientation, supported by up-to-date international sources (EUAA, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Inter-American Court of Human Rights), required an assessment by the Prefect which was entirely lacking.
The judgment affirms important principles: a “photocopy” expulsion decree, without an individualised examination, is unlawful; a person who has expressed the intention to seek asylum cannot be expelled because of the inertia of the very same administration; non-refoulement on grounds of sexual orientation must be examined also by the Justice of the Peace.
This article is of a general informative nature and does not constitute legal advice. For a specific assessment of your case, we invite you to contact the Firm.