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.
11 cases found
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A.M. (on behalf of M.K.A.H.) v. Switzerland
Date of decision: 22 September 2021
Region/country: Europe / Switzerland
Admissibility The Committee considered that the Applicant had sufficiently substantiated, for the purpose of admissibility, the complaints under Articles 3(1), 6(2), 7, 12, 16, 22, 27, 28, 37 and 39 UNCRC by which: (i) the State has not respected the best interests of the child nor heard the child at the time of the hearing of the asylum request and; (ii) the child runs a…
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Case of Expelled Dominicans and Haitians v. Dominican Republic
Date of decision: 28 August 2014
Region/country: Americas / Dominican Republic
The Court found that the State had violated the presumed victim’s rights under the Convention, and ordered the State to pay reparations and to take administrative and legislative actions to remediate the presumed victim’s situation and to ensure these violations did not re-occur. Obligation to Prevent Statelessness The Court considered that while States have the power to determine nationality, they must exercise it in accordance…
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Communication No. 1959/2010 (Warsame v Canada)
Date of decision: 01 September 2011
Region/country: Americas / Canada
The HRC (by a majority) found that deporting Warsame to Somalia would violate his rights under articles 6(1), 7, 12(4), 17 and 23(1) of the ICCPR: Articles 6(1) and 7 - due to the real risk of irreparable harm he would face (p. 16). Article 12(4) – the Committee determined that Canada was Warsame’s ‘own country’ due to his cultural, social and familial ties, and…
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East African Asians v The United Kingdom
Date of decision: 14 December 1973
Region/country: Europe / United Kingdom
The Commission considered that the six applications brought by British protected persons must be distinguished from the 25 cases of CUKCs as British protected persons, according to English law, are not British subjects and remained subject to immigration control under the 1962 Act. The Commission held that the legislation was not discriminatory and did not constitute ‘degrading treatment’ under Article 3 in relation to British…
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IHRDA (on behalf of Esmaila Connateh & 13 others) v Angola
Date of decision: 22 May 2008
Region/country: Africa / Republic of Angola
While the Complainant made written submissions on the merits, the Respondent made no submissions despite being given opportunities to do so. In those circumstances, the Commission decided to consider the Complainant’s case. The Commission also considered the ‘exhaustion of local remedies rule’ but noted there were no domestic remedies available to the deportees as the circumstances of their arrest, detention and deportation did not allow…
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Kim v Russia
Date of decision: 17 July 2014
Region/country: Europe / Russia
On Article 3 The Court found that the conditions of detention caused considerable suffering and diminished the Applicant's human dignity. It therefore held there had been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention. On Article 5(4) The Court first noted thatthere was no judicial review in the initial detention order of July 2011. Then the Applicant spent over two years in custody, during which…
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Lakatosh & Others v. Russia
Date of decision: 07 June 2011
Region/country: Europe / Russia
The Court received settlement declarations signed by the parties. By the settlement declarations, the parties agreed: the Applicants would waive any further claims against Russia in respect of the facts giving rise to the application; the Russian Government would provide an undertaking to pay each applicant 30,000 euros to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses; the settlement money would…
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Malawi African Association v Mauritania
Date of decision: 11 May 2000
Region/country: Africa / Mauritania
The Commission found that there had been violations of Articles 2, 4, 5, 6, 7(1)(a)-(d), 9.2, 10(1), 11, 12(1), 14, 16(1), 18(1) and 26 of the Charter. Article 12(1) provides that every individual shall have the right to freedom of movement and residence within state borders provided he abides by the law. The Commission held that evicting Black Mauritanians from their houses and depriving them…
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NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs
Date of decision: 28 November 2023
Region/country: Asia / Australia
The Court held that the plaintiff was unsuccessful in his argument that his continuing detention was not authorised on the proper construction of ss 189(1) and 196(1) of the Migration Act but succeeded in his claim that his continuing detention contravened Ch III of the Constitution. The court discussed the construction of 189(1) Migration Act (imposing a duty on an officer to detain a person…
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Shoygo v. Ukraine
Date of decision: 30 September 2021
Region/country: Europe / Ukraine
The Court noted the challenge faced by the Ukrainian authorities in organising the expulsion of the applicant due to the lack of identity documents. However, it observed that ‘no explanation has been provided for why it took the authorities, who knew about the applicant’s affirmations concerning his Russian nationality from the outset of his detention [...], almost eleven months to contact the Embassy of the…
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This initiative has been made possible with the support of UNHCR, the European Network on Statelessness, and Mallesons.