Europe's top court on Friday questioned the legitimacy of the "safe countries" list Italy uses to send migrants to Albania to await decisions on their asylum claims, in a fresh blow to a key aspect of the government's migration policy.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) sided with an Italian court that questioned the government’s designation of Bangladesh as a “safe country of origin” — a label that allows deportations and detentions of asylum seekers while their application is under review.

The ruling follows preliminary questions raised by judges at the Rome Tribunal regarding the legality of detaining migrants rescued in the Mediterranean and then transferred to Albania