How to obtain the recognition of the status of stateless

taken from aduc.it
How to obtain the recognition of the status of stateless
Emmanuela Bertucci, Legal ADUC

The Italian law protection of stateless persons, giving them the same rights granted to political refugees (identity documents', residence permit, working, health care, social security, opportunity 'to apply for Italian citizenship after 5 anni, etc..).

For against, obtain recognition of the status of stateless and 'far from simple since' reigns the most 'complete uncertainty about the procedures to follow. To submit your application? The law 91 the 1992 remains silent on citizenship. The implementing regulation (DPR 572 the 1993) expected, Article. 17, the “possibility '” to present a petition to the Ministry of the Interior. There are other pieces of legislation will help determine if this is the only chance ', or is an alternative to the establishment of the status of stateless persons in court, according to the general rules on the assessment by the ordinary courts of the status (es. citizenship status, refugee, civil status, etc..). The case law on the point and 'discordant, and over the years have developed three different orientations, none of which has prevailed on the. According to one verifying the status of a stateless person can 'be required due to the ordinary courts citing as its counterpart the Ministry of Interior. A second approach considers that the request can be made in the court, no need to mention the Ministry of the Interior, with the so-called ritual chamber. Lastly, On the other hand the case law holds that the only legitimate body to rule on the request for verification of the status of stateless or the Ministry of the Interior.

In this jungle of conflicting decisions suggest this procedure:

To submit your application?

The application must be submitted to the Ministry of the Interior by registered mail with return receipt to the following address:

Department for freedom 'civil and immigration Central Directorate for Civil Rights, Citizenship and Immigration Via Cavour, 6 00184 ROME

View the contrasts of the already 'small law published about, In fact, we believe more 'prudent to follow the steps from the only existing standard in the field. This' to take shelter from the oscillations of the law and the possible delays that would result in a rejection of the application.

What is the time for the issuance of the order?

If you decide on the granting of citizenship, and that 'all in all a process document usually well educated and “ready solution”, the Interior Ministry employs about 4-5 anni (compared to the two years required by law), we can only imagine that the timing of the recognition of the status of stateless persons are much more 'long. At any rate, because 'the law does not prescribe a specific end within which the Ministry must decide, apply the general rules concerning the administrative procedure. The ministry will have 'therefore 90 days to issue a decision of acceptance or rejection of the instance.

What to do if the Ministry does not respond within the time limits, or refusing the application?

In case of non-delivery by the Ministry within ninety days from the filing of the, you can 'failure to challenge the silence by citing the Ministry to ordinary courts, and asking him to ascertain the status of stateless. Similarly, if, within the same period, the Ministry rejects the claim.
In this regard,, the courts have held that the silence of public administration (or a decision refusing) should be challenged before the Regional Administrative Court (TAR). That's' cause according to this orientation there is no right to the recognition of the status of stateless, but only a legitimate interest. In practice, the government can ' “allow” recognition on the basis of a series of evaluations, however, that flow in a discretionary choice.
Conversely, we believe that failure to decide on silence and challenged the competence of the ordinary courts because 'it and' devolved matter of personal status, and why 'recognition of their status as a stateless person is not' a legitimate interest but a subjective right. This' for two reasons::
1) The Italian law, as well as' several international conventions (New York Convention of 1954 relating to the Status of Stateless Persons; Convention 1961 on the Reduction of) recognize de jure stateless persons (ie 'recognized as such) a series of rights that you have if you are 'de facto stateless persons;
2) The de jure stateless person can 'subsequently acquire citizenship of the country that has recognized as such. Given that the right to citizenship and 'one of the fundamental human rights (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, among many), the same must be said of the recognition of statelessness, without which the “homeless” can not 'enter the first.

You can 'ask for a residence permit before that was involved the recognition of the status of stateless?

If you are not in possession of a residence permit, not 'necessary to await the decision of the judge to get it, but you can 'right from the application of judgment to formulate a contextual instance with which you ask the court to issue an injunction under Article. 700 c.p.c. with which to require the police to issue a residence permit “provisional” pending the outcome of the proceedings, providing evidence of the serious damage that the applicant suffers. In this sense, we believe it is much easier to prove that damage, place that those who have a residence permit can not 'work and thus have the means of subsistence.