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.
13 cases found
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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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Genovese v. Malta
Date of decision: 11 October 2011
Region/country: Europe / Malta
The Court first dismissed the Government’s preliminary objections, holding that the case concerned the Applicant’s eligibility for nationality before the 2007 amendments. Therefore, his failure to apply after those amendments was irrelevant. It also found that the Applicant had properly raised an Article 14 complaint in conjunction with both private and family life under Article 8 before the domestic courts. The Court then held that…
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Ghoumid and Others v France
Date of decision: 25 June 2020
Region/country: Europe / France
On Article 8 The Applicants argued that both their right to respect for private life and for family life had been breached. The complaint with regards to family life was deemed inadmissible, with the Court noting that ‘an order made to deprive a person of French nationality will have no effect on that person’s presence in France’ (paragraph 42), and that if the Applicants were…
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Habbal et al v Argentina
Date of decision: 31 August 2022
Region/country: Americas / Argentina
On Resolution 1088 (expulsion and detention orders) The Court first found that the content of Resolution 1088 and the procedure followed for its adoption ‘constituted a breach of the obligations of the State’ (paragraph 80). The Court found the Respondent (1) unlawfully ordered the expulsion of a citizen (Article 22(5)); (2) failed to follow lawful procedures for expelling lawful permanent residents (Article 22(6)); (3) denied…
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Johansen v. Denmark
Date of decision: 01 February 2022
Region/country: Europe / Denmark
On Deprivation of Nationality The Court reiterated that while the right to nationality is not guaranteed under the Convention, arbitrary deprivation of nationality may raise issues under Article 8 ECHR because nationality forms part of personal identity. It subsequently applied a two-step test established in previous jurisprudence: whether the revocation was arbitrary, and the consequences for the Applicant. On arbitrariness, the Court found that Section…
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Kurić and Others v. Slovenia
Date of decision: 26 June 2012
Region/country: Europe / Slovenia
On Preliminary Objections On victim status, the Grand Chamber held that although Slovenia had acknowledged the breach of the Applicants’ rights and issued residence permits to six Applicants, this did not constitute ‘appropriate’ and ‘sufficient’ redress given the ‘widespread human-rights concern created by the ‘erasure’’ and the consequences for these Applicants over a nearly twenty-year period (paragraph 267). The Grand Chamber added that no compensatory…
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M.G. Tjebbes and Others v. Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken
Date of decision: 12 March 2019
Region/country: Europe / Netherlands
The Court clarified that, since the Applicants had not exercised their right to free movement within the EU, Article 21 TFEU did not need to be considered in its preliminary ruling. Recalling its ruling in Rottmann, the Court subsequent reminded that while Member States have competence to set conditions for acquisition and loss of nationality, this power must be exercised with due regard to EU…
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Mulowayi and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Another
Date of decision: 29 January 2019
Region/country: Africa / South Africa
The Court held that the High Court’s declaration of invalidity of regulation 3(2)(a) did not need confirmation, because Section 172(2)(a) of the Constitution only requires confirmation for Acts of Parliament, provincial laws, or conduct by the President, not for regulations made by Ministers. As a result, the Applicants’ request for confirmation was refused as unnecessary. The Court also found that the High Court had erred…
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N3 (AP) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & ZA (AP) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
Date of decision: 26 February 2025
Region/country: Europe / United Kingdom
The Supreme Court held that if a deprivation order is withdrawn, it is to be treated as having no effect for the purpose of determining an individual’s citizenship status in the period from the date of the making of the order until it is withdrawn. The outcome was that E3 and N3 were regarded as having British citizenship throughout this period, and ZA qualified for…
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Nottebohm Case (Lichtenstein v. Guatemala)
Date of decision: 06 April 1955
Region/country: Europe / Liechtenstein
The ICJ decided that Liechtenstein was not entitled to take up Mr Nottebohm’s case and put forward an international claim on his behalf against Guatemala. The ICJ dealt with the issue without considering the validity of Mr Nottebohm’s naturalisation according to the Law of Liechtenstein. The ICJ enunciated that the grant of nationality is entitled to recognition by other States only if it represents a…
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This initiative has been made possible with the support of UNHCR, the European Network on Statelessness, and Mallesons.