A court in Albania has begun a hearing on whether a deal with Italy’s far-right government would violate the constitution by allowing Albanian territory to be used for reception centres for people seeking to enter the EU by sea.

The agreement, announced in November by the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, would result initially in the non-EU member state hosting about 3,000 people but ultimately processing up to 36,000 a year.

Meloni, who once said Italy should repatriate migrants and then “sink the boats that rescued them”, has argued that the plan is necessary in order to reduce arrivals by sea to Italy, which increased by 50% last year from nearly 104,000 in 2022 to almost 156,000.

Under the deal, which has been criticised by human rights groups but tacitly endorsed by the EU, those allocated to Albania would be people rescued by Italian boats. Minors, pregnant women and vulnerable individuals would be taken to Italy.

Albania’s constitutional court threw a spanner in the works in December when it blocked the ratification of the legislation by lawmakers, with the chief judge, Olta Zaçaj, announcing a hearing for Thursday to determine whether the agreement violates Albania’s constitution.

The judges in the closed-door hearing have until 6 March to make a ruling, but their decision could be issued well before the deadline given the interest of this case for both counties.

Critics say the agreement – which many have compared to the UK’s deal with Rwanda – presents several legal difficulties. For Italy to exercise its jurisdiction in Albania, they suggest, Tirana would effectively have to cede a portion of its territory to Rome.

The UK also has a migration deal with Albania, but that deal only involves returning Albanians to their home country.

During a series of meetings in the Italian parliament between immigration experts and parliamentarians, some scholars have pointed out how it is practically impossible to ensure the same standard of asylum rights in a foreign country.

Médecins Sans Frontières has said the deal goes “one step beyond” previous agreements between EU countries and non-member states such as Turkey, Libya and Tunisia. “The aim is no longer to only discourage departures, but to actively prevent people from fleeing and those rescued at sea from gaining safe and rapid access to European territory,” it said in a statement.

The Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, has denied the accusations. “There is no outsourcing of the processing of asylum applications to a third country and there is no derogation from internationally guaranteed rights, which are expressly reaffirmed several times in the protocol,” he said.

Rome has also said the deal could be replicated in other parts of Europe.

The Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatović, has warned that it could set a dangerous precedent. She said: “The shifting of responsibility across borders by some states also incentivises others to do the same, which risks creating a domino effect that could undermine the European and global system of international protection.”

In exchange for prime minister Edi Rama’s support on migration, Meloni has said she will do everything in her power to support Albania’s entry into the EU.

“Albania continues to be a friendly nation, and despite not yet being a member, it behaves as if it were one. This is one of the reasons why I am proud that Italy has always been one of the countries supporting the enlargement to the western Balkans,” said Meloni in November.

Aid workers say the agreement could mark a turning point in the history of the migration crisis and the culmination of a policy of “repression” the European Union has been pursuing for years.

“The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Italy and Albania raises several human rights concerns and adds to a worrying European trend towards the externalisation of asylum responsibilities,” Mijatović said. “It is indicative of a wider drive by Council of Europe member states to pursue various models of externalising asylum as a potential ‘quick fix’ to the complex challenges posed by the arrival of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.”

More than 2,500 people died or went missing in 2023 while attempting to cross the central Mediterranean from north Africa to reach Europe.