stateless status and expulsion from italian territory 155 consequently, Article 31 of the New York Convention of 1954 Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (hereinafter: “New York Convention”),1 according to which a stateless person cannot be expelled except for reasons of national security or public order, was applicable. Key Passages from the Ruling (Paragraph 1) “[…] the condition of de facto statelessness is not a condition preventing the expulsion of a foreigner, since, according to the New York Convention of 1954 […], the status of stateless person can be recognized only to those who lack citizenship in the State with which they have had or have a connection […]. The New York Convention of 1954 considers stateless only those who are deprived of nationality and have not been able to obtain it in any State under its own legislation; those who, being able to obtain nationality under the legislation of their country of origin, have not taken steps to obtain it are not stateless. In the present case, […] the defendant was unable to obtain the citizenship of his mother’s country of origin (Serbia) and his father’s country of citizenship (Kosovo). The trial judge should have verified whether the defendant, since he was born and raised in Italy, a country with which he actually had a significant connection, should be considered stateless. If so, it should have held that the protection under Article 31 of the New York Convention of 1954, under which a stateless person may not be expelled except on documented grounds of national security and public order, extended to the person concerned”. Comment 1 Background to the Case The police authority of Brescia (Italy) ordered twice, in 2015 and 2016, Mr. D.A. to leave the national territory. As a result of his failure to comply with such orders, Mr. D.A. was convicted by the Giudice di Pace di Brescia of the crime provided for in the Italian Immigration Act (Testo unico sull’immigrazione, 1 New York Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 28 September 1954, entered into force 6 June 1960. The Italian Review of International and Comparative Law 2 (2022) 154–162