Stateless Status and Expulsion from Italian Territory

Abstract

In this judgment the Corte di Cassazione addresses the issue of the prohibition on the expulsion of stateless persons guaranteed by Article 31 of the New York Convention of 1954 Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and affirms that it represents an exception to the general rule under international law according to which every State has, in principle, the right to expel at any moment an alien from its territory. The decision is particularly interesting because it allows a reflection on the vulnerable condition of stateless persons, on the distinction between de jure and de facto statelessness, and on the burden and standard of proof in establishing statelessness.