International Lawyers Associates is an international law firm that has always been in the forefront to ensure its clients the respect of civil rights and absolute international protection.
Our country can accommodate and provide protection and asylum to foreigners persecuted in their country of origin, with the recognition of refugee status. Hence it is possible to ask for political asylum in Italy by presenting a request for recognition of refugee status. The foreign citizen, out of fear of being persecuted for race, religion, nationality, affinity with a determined social group or political opinion, is out of his/her country of origin and cannot, because of these fears, or will not avail him/herself with the protection of the country of origin. The same rules are also applied to stateless persons (i.e. those persons without nationality) who, for the same reasons, do not want to return to their country of origin. Should there be no grounds to give refugee status to a foreigner, if the latter risks running into serious danger in his/her country, a special legal protection called subsidiary protection may be provided. In both cases we’re speaking of international protection.
Many areas of the world are the epicenters of political, ideological, religious and military conflicts, and International Lawyers Associates intends to give the greatest commitment to protect those who intend to find safety and refuge in the territory of the Italian Republic or in another Country of the free world.
The following questions are taken from the magazine Diritti e risposte promoted by the newspaper, Corriere della Sera:
What is the status of refugee:
Refugee means an individual that has been identified with the refugee status following the grant of the application filed by our lawyers in the interest of the clients, to seek asylum in our country.
These provisions are contained in an Italian Law of 1954 which fulfilled the Geneva Convention of 1951, which established the conditions for being considered a refugee, the forms of legal protection, other types of assistance, social rights that the individual must be given by the States adhering to the convention and the refugee’s obligations towards the hosting government.
Once the aformentioned status is given to the client, he/she will benefit from the so-called international protection.
What is subsidiary protection:
The status of subsidiary protection is a type of protection granted by the Italian State to the foreign citizen who does not qualify for recognition as a refugee but there are reasonable grounds for believing that, if returned to his/her country of origin, or if stateless, if returned to his/her country of origin, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm; for these reasons, the individual cannot, because of that risk, or is unwilling to avail him/herself of the protection of the country of origin.
It is another form of international protection.
For granting subsidiary protection, the following are considered serious damages:
- the death sentence;
- torture or other forms of punishment or inhuman treatments; serious and individual threats to life or person originating from a country that violently indiscriminates in situations of internal or international armed conflict.
The attorneys of International Lawyers Associates can also ask for political asylum in the interests of its clients, in certain specific cases provided for by law. This type of protection is given to the foreign citizen who has a well-founded fear of being persecuted in his/her country of origin for reasons of:
- race: this refers to, in particular, to considerations pertaining to the color, descent, or affiliation to a particular ethnic group;
- religion: the concept of religion shall in particular include the holding of theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, the participation in, or abstention from, formal worship in private or in public, either alone or in community with others, other religious acts or expressions of view, or forms of personal or communal conduct based on or mandated by any religious belief;
- nationality: the concept of nationality shall not be confined to citizenship or lack thereof but shall in particular include membership of a group determined by its cultural, ethnic, or linguistic identity, common geographical or political origins or its relationship with the population of another State
- particular social group: members of that group share an innate characteristic, or a common background that cannot be changed, or share a characteristic or belief that is so fundamental to identity or conscience that a person should not be forced to renounce it;
- political opinion: the concept of political opinion shall in particular include the holding of an opinion, thought or belief on a matter related to the potential actors of persecution and to their politics or methods, regardless of whether the applicant has translated that opinion, thought or belief into concrete action.
For these purposes, however, it is necessary that the perpetrators of persecution or serious harm in the foreigner’s country of origin be:
- the State;
- parties or organisations controlling the State or a substantial part of the territory of the State;
- also individuals not belonging to the State if, however, the latter refuses to provide protection against persecution or serious harm.
It is obvious that many people, if not real masses of people, find themselves in the circumstances mentioned above. The international law firm, however, focuses solely on its professional work, providing their assistance only to the people who – because of their position in the country of origin, for the profession they carry out or for particular economic positions – are able to access the professional services provided by International Lawyers Associates.