Distress at Sea - State Interference with Private Rescue Operations

States have recently begun to interfere with rescue and search and rescue (SAR) operations led by private actors (non-governmental organisations and commercial vessels) aimed to render assistance to migrants in distress at sea. As a result, the journeys of maritime migrants have become even more dangerous, with the central Mediterranean Sea route remaining the deadliest out of all the migratory sea pathways. The primary aim of this research project is to investigate state interference with the horizontal relationship between private actors performing rescue and SAR operations at sea and maritime migrants. The thesis explores the different types of state interference and seeks to determine whether they can be justified under international law and European Union law, distinguishing between the duty to render assistance and the duty to perform SAR operations. To this end, in this doctoral project, I rely on the theory of the third-party effect (Drittwirkung). The thesis is structured as follows: first, I provide an overview of the empirical context, i.e., the central Mediterranean Sea route. Second, the international legal framework is outlined, focusing on the law of the sea, international human rights law, refugee law and EU law. Third, I map different categories of state interference with non-governmental organisations and commercial vessels and assess their legality under international law and EU law. Fourth, I investigate states’ discretion in international norms interpretation and implementation as well as their impact on horizontal relations in the context of maritime migration. I argue that we should further refine regime interaction to reduce state discretion leading to interference with the horizontal relation between private actors. I also propose that a (qualified) duty to disembark under EU law could constitute a remedy to many practices of state interference with private actors.