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.
24 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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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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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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Heisei 30 Nen (Gyou-Ko), No 232
Date of decision: 29 January 2020
Region/country: Asia / Japan
The Tokyo High Court first considered the Plaintiff’s nationality status by examining his connections to the former Soviet Union, Russia, and Georgia and accepted that the Plaintiff is stateless. In relation to refugee status, the Court held that the Minister of Justice’s refusal to recognise the Plaintiff as a refugee should be revoked. Applying the definition in Art 1(A)(2) of the Refugee Convention, the Court…
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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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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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K2 v. United Kingdom
Date of decision: 07 February 2017
Region/country: Europe / United Kingdom
The Court addressed the complaint in two parts, first considering the alleged violation of Article 8 and then the alleged violation of Article 14 read together with Article 8. The Article 8 analysis was also divided into two parts, the first on the deprivation of citizenship and the second on the exclusion from the UK. On Deprivation of Citizenship Following its established methodology, the Court…
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This initiative has been made possible with the support of UNHCR, the European Network on Statelessness, and Mallesons.