Italy - Supreme Court, decision 19201/2015

The appellant faced deportation even though her stateless status was de facto recognised. For this reason, the appellant requested that the Justice of Peace’s decision be overturned, and for her stateless status to be recognised. The Supreme Court recognised the applicant’s stateless status and overruled the Justice of Peace’s decision.

Case name (in original language)
Cassazione Civile Sez. 6 Num. 19201 Anno 2015
Case status
Decided
Case number
19201
Citation
Italy - Supreme Court, decision 19201/2015
Date of decision
State
Court / UN Treaty Body
Supreme Court (Corte Suprema di Cassazione)
Language(s) the decision is available in
Italian
Applicant's country of birth
Macedonia
Applicant's country of residence
Italy
Relevant Legislative Provisions

Article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention)

Art. 15, par. 4 Directive 2008/115/CE on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally residing third country nationals

Facts

The applicant has Macedonian origin and has lived in Italy for more than 20 years. She was residing in a legally registered house under her husband’s name, with their five sons (four under 18). She was subjected to an expulsion decree and subsequently detained in a centre for identification and expulsion (C.I.E). Her de facto stateless status was acknowledged in the expulsion decree and was at odds with the possibility of repatriation. The applicant’s stateless status was not taken into consideration by the Justice of Peace’s decision. For this reason, the applicant lodged an appeal to the Supreme Court.  

Decision & Reasoning

Due to the fact that the Italian administration did not appear in front of the court, the Supreme Court directly recognised the de facto stateless status of the applicant. Accordingly, the Court found a violation of art. 15 par. 4 of Directive 2008/115/CE, stating that the purported removal was unreasonable. The Supreme Court held that the Justice of Peace did not take into consideration the applicant’s de facto stateless status when granting a decision.

For these reasons, the court ordered the Italian administration to pay a fee and revoked the expulsion decree on the basis of insufficient legal justification.

Outcome

The Government’s State Attorney did not appear in front of the court.