Italy – Court of Cassation, judgment no. 1183

The Supreme Court decision laid down the principle according to which the statelessness determination procedure requires evidence of: (i) the lack of nationality of the State with which the person has significant connections and (ii) the legal or factual impossibility of obtaining the nationality of that State.

Case name (in original language)
Cassazione civile, 18/01/2018, n. 1183
Case status
Decided
Case number
1183/2018
Citation
Cassazione civile, 18/01/2018, n. 1183
Date of decision
State
Court / UN Treaty Body
Court of Cassation
Language(s) the decision is available in
Italian
Applicant's country of birth
Serbia
Applicant's country of residence
Italy
Relevant Legislative Provisions

Article 1, 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons

Italian Law no. 306 of 1962.

Serbian Law no. 134/2004.

Facts

The appellant’s mother was Yugoslavian and the appellant’s father did not confirm his paternity. The Judgment does not specify the appellant’s place of birth.

In 2013, the Tribunal of Rome declared the appellant stateless. The Italian Ministry of the Interior challenged the first instance judgment before the Court of Appeal of Rome, which confirmed the decision of the Tribunal of Rome. The Italian Ministry of the Interior then challenged the judgment of the Court of Appeal before the Supreme Court.

    Decision & Reasoning

    The Supreme Court found that the reasoning of the first and second instance judges was wrong as they considered sufficient the proof provided by the applicant on her lack of nationality, without further investigating if the applicant was entitled to Serbian nationality based on Serbian law.

    In fact, the Supreme Court upheld the first argument put forward by the Italian Ministry of the Interior on the interpretation of Article 1 of the 1954 Convention, stating that: “In judgments concerning the verification of the status of a stateless person, the applicant is required to specifically allege that he/she does not possess the nationality of the State or States with which he/she has or has had significant connections, and that he/she is not in a legal and/or factual position to obtain its recognition in light of the applicable regulatory systems”.

    In summary, in order for a person to be declared stateless, he/she must provide evidence of both:

    • the lack of nationality of the State with which the person has significant connections and
    • the legal or factual impossibility of obtaining the nationality of that State.

    On this basis, the Supreme Court maintained that the applicant failed to provide evidence of the second condition required to be declared stateless.

    Outcome

    The appeal before the Supreme Court was upheld. The Supreme Court then deferred the case back to the Court of Appeal, which will have to decide in accordance with the principle laid down by the Supreme Court.

    Caselaw cited

    Cassazione civile, 24/11/2017, n. 28153

    Cassazione civile, SS. UU., n. 28873/2008

    Cassazione civile, 21/06/2013, n. 15679

    Cassazione civile, 03/03/2015, n. 4262