Disobbedienza civile o lotta per il diritto? Un bilancio di cinque anni di criminalizzazione del soccorso in mare

this contribution traces the main stages of the process of criminalization of non-governmental organizations' search and rescue activities in the Central Mediterranea Sea, to light the paradoxes and the shadows. The theoretical framework is that of the civil disobedience and its counterpart, the obligation to obey the law. This perspective, emblematic for investigating complexity, limits and potential of the law itself, has been used because it can bring out the specificity of the positions assumed by the main players involved in the events, as well as the legal and socio-cultural consequences of their actions, by interrogating the dimensions of legality and justice.