Spanish Supreme Court bars hot returns at sea and rejects EU referral on migrant regularisation

Spain's highest court ruled that the provision for immediate "hot returns" cannot be applied to migrants intercepted at sea trying to reach the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. The judges said the law only allows border‑rejection when a physical barrier such as a fence is crossed; detection devices such as drones or sensors do not count. Consequently, migrants seized in high‑seas rescues must be processed under the normal return procedure, with the right to legal assistance and to seek international protection. The decision was based on the case of an Algerian national intercepted on 14 November 2024 and previously handed over to Moroccan authorities without any legal safeguard.

In a separate ruling, the Supreme Court declined a request to refer Spain's decree regularising about 1.2 million irregular migrants to the EU Court of Justice and rejected a request to suspend the decree pending that referral. The decree, challenged by the regional governments of Valencia and Aragon, was alleged to conflict with EU rules on asylum, return and Schengen free movement. The court will continue hearing the appeals without seeking a preliminary ruling from the European Court.