Criminalisation and De-criminalisation Practices on the Ground

This first empirical chapter considers the practices deployed on the ground to counter migrant smuggling along the Central Mediterranean route. In particular, the focus is placed on two of the most relevant empirical manifestations of anti-smuggling implementation: the criminalisation of civil society organisations and of people on the move accused of being smugglers. In both cases, the judiciary is the key actor, given that it has the ability to discretionally intervene in policy implementation and to produce both direct and indirect effects on the policy process, which is explored in the first section of the chapter. In doing so, we will delve into the criminalisation and the subsequent partial de-criminalisation of civil society organisations and of people on the move who drive boats or assist in navigation, pointing at the shortcomings of the current framework and the way in which this evidence enters the public debate. In the second section of the chapter, other actors beyond the judiciary are considered—such as law enforcement, city governments, people on the move and sea rescue civil society organisations. Looking at anti-smuggling implementation on the ground, it is possible to highlight two different dynamics: (a) the contribution to the policy regime made by a plurality of actors other than policy-makers stricto sensu, especially by way of policy by practice and (b) the emergence of evidence related to the shortcomings of the current framework, which can in turn be transformed into policy inputs in the wake of evidence-based policy-making.