Ricerc@Sapienza

The main question of this article is whether hotspots in Italy are reception or detention structures and whether detention in these structures is law- ful under international law, namely under Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR hereafter). In order to answer this ques- tion, I will first analyse the ECHR jurisprudence on detention and how the Court defines this concept. I will then describe the case Khlaifia and others v. Italy and explain why the ECtHR condemned Italy in that case. Thirdly, I will evaluate if violation of Article 5 ECHR in hotspots takes place systematically. If it does, I will explain the reasons allowing violation to be systematic. The paper will focus on the example of the hotspot of Lampedusa.