The appeal was filed by the Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI) after requesting entrance into the Lampedusa hotspot and being denied by the administration, based on the negative opinion of the Ministry of the Interior. The opinion stated that the entry into the hotspot was limited to access for reasons linked to the correct administration of the structure, and this is granted by the presence of international organisations such as UNHCR, IOM and EASO and other organisations with specific mandates and projects. On appeal, ASGI stated that the procedures followed in the hotspots are based on the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) aimed at providing some general guidelines that have an organisational aim rather than a normative one. Access to the centres can only be limited for reasons of security and public order, and in any case, it can be limited but not denied completely.

The Regional Administrative Tribunal of Sicily noted that the right to access reception or other centres such as the hotspot needs to be guaranteed mainly to ensure the right of applicants for international protection to contact UNHCR or another trusted organisation at any stage of the asylum procedure, including for provision of legal assistance and representation.. In this sense, it was not possible to doubt the role of ASGI as such an organisation as it has been registered since 16 September 2005 in the Registry of the entities and association carrying out activities in support of migrants. Additionally, the Tribunal considered that the access of the organisation could only be postponed if there were reasons of security and public order, and not completely denied. Therefore, the Tribunal accepted the appeal as well-founded.