Global Caselaw Database on Statelessness
The Global Caselaw Database on Statelessness was established to strengthen access to jurisprudence on nationality, statelessness, and related human rights issues. It provides a practical resource for lawyers, academics, advocates, and decision-makers, complementing UNHCR and the Open Society Justice Initiative’s ‘Litigating the Right to Nationality: A Guide for Practitioners’ by bringing together decisions from courts and tribunals across different jurisdictions.
The database covers judgments that address statelessness directly, such as where the applicant is stateless or at risk of statelessness.
The Global Caselaw Database on Statelessness is an evolving tool and new cases will be added incrementally.
Want to offer feedback or suggest a case for inclusion in the Database? Contact our team
This initiative has been made possible with the support of UNHCR, the European Network on Statelessness, and Mallesons.
55 cases found
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Abdu Abucar Hussein and 7 others v. Attorney General
Date of decision: 18 March 2022
Region/country: Africa / Republic of Uganda
On Question 1 The Court found that the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995 as amended and the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act, Cap.66 are clear on who is a citizen and the nature of citizenship. The Court disagreed with the assessment made by the Deputy Passport Control Officer in his circular as the Constitution is very clear as to who a citizen…
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Abid Khan and others v Government of Bangladesh and others
Date of decision: 05 May 2003
Region/country: Asia / Bangladesh
The Court considered Section 7(1) of the Electoral Rolls Ordinance 1982 and explained that the two vital issues to be decided were the citizenship of the petitioners and the legal implications of their residence at Geneva Camp. Regarding the First Group, the Court found that: The two Petitioners were entitled to citizenship under Article 2 of the President’s Order for the reasons argued by the…
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Advisory Opinion No. 4 (Nationality Decrees issued in Tunis and Morocco)
Date of decision: 07 February 1923
Region/country: Middle East; North Africa / Tunis (now Tunisia), Morocco
The PCIJ observed that “[t]he question whether a certain matter is or is not solely within the jurisdiction of a State is an essentially relative question; it depends upon the development of international relations.” (p. 24) On this basis, the PCIJ concluded that, although questions of nationality were in principle solely within the jurisdiction of a State, such jurisdiction is limited by rules of international…
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Advisory Opinion on Proposed Amendments to the Naturalization Provision of the Constitution of Costa Rica
Date of decision: 19 January 1984
Region/country: Americas / Costa Rica
The Court held: There was no violation of Article 20 (right to nationality) in the proposed amendments (5–1 decision). The preferential treatment based on regional affinity was acceptable(Unanimous) Differentiation between natural-born and naturalized Central Americans/Ibero-Americans is not discriminatory (5–1; Judge Buergenthal dissenting) Language and civic requirements are not discriminatory per se (5–1; Judge Piza dissenting) Gender-specific naturalization through marriage is discriminatory and violates the Convention…
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African Centre of Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) And People's Legal Aid Centre (PLACE) v Sudan
Date of decision: 04 May 2018
Region/country: Africa / Sudan
The Committee found the Respondent: violated its obligation under Article 3 of the Charter on non-discrimination; violated Article 6(3) and 6(4) of the Charter on the right to nationality and the prevention of statelessness; as a consequence of the above violations, also violated Article 11 of the Charter on the right to education; and did not violate Articles 18(1) and 19(1) of the Charter on…
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Alexander v Minister for Home Affairs
Date of decision: 08 June 2022
Region/country: Asia / Australia
Is s36B supported by a head of Commonwealth legislative power? The Court rejected Mr Alexander’s argument that s36B is not within the power of the Parliament to make laws with respect to ‘naturalization and aliens’ under s51(xix) of the Constitution. The Court considered that the Constitution left it to Parliament to decide who shall be granted the status of citizenship and what that status may…
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Anudo Ochieng Anudo v United Republic of Tanzania
Date of decision: 22 March 2018
Region/country: Africa / Tanzania
The Court noted that the application invoked the violation of three fundamental rights (in addition to other incidental rights): (i) the rights under Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to nationality and not to be arbitrarily deprived of nationality; (ii) the right under Article 13 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (‘ICCPR’) not to be arbitrarily expelled; and (iii)…
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AS (Guinea) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
Date of decision: 12 October 2018
Region/country: Europe / United Kingdom
The Court determined that a person claiming to be stateless must provide evidence satisfying the standard of balance of probabilities and must apply for nationality as part of that evidence. It did not have to determine whether statelessness was relevant to the revocation of a deportation order because the appellant had not established that he was stateless. In its reasoning, the court held that the…
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Attorney General (Appellant) v Shannon Tyrek Rolle and 4 others (Respondents) (The Bahamas)
Date of decision: 04 May 2023
Region/country: Americas / The Bahamas
The Board dismissed the Attorney General’s appeal and held that the Constitution confers citizenship at birth to children born in The Bahamas whose mother is unmarried and not a citizen of The Bahamas and a father who is a citizen. Each of the Attorney General’s three overarching submissions are addressed below. Common law presumption The Board rejected the common law presumption argument advanced by the…
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Attorney-General v Dow
Date of decision: 03 July 1992
Region/country: Africa / Botswana
On Standing The Court held that the Respondent had standing to bring her application. This was on the basis of her parental relationship with the affected children, and the resulting impact on the respondent of the alleged discrimination. On the Merits The majority of the Court (Schreiner and Puckrin JJA dissenting) held that Section 4 of the Act was unconstitutional. The Court’s reasoning focused on…
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This initiative has been made possible with the support of UNHCR, the European Network on Statelessness, and Mallesons.