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.
54 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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AB Raad van State, 202006910/1/V1 & 202006913/1/V6 ECLI:NL:RVS:2022:1722
Date of decision: 29 June 2022
Region/country: Europe / Netherlands
The Court first rejected the Appellant’s argument that no individualised assessment had been made, confirming that the Secretary of State and the AIVD had considered her personal circumstances and that the evidence of her affiliation with ISIS was reliable. Her criminal conviction for participation in a terrorist organisation reinforced this conclusion. Turning to the second ground, the Court emphasised that under Article 68c(2) of the…
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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 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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Andrejeva v. Latvia
Date of decision: 18 February 2009
Region/country: Europe / Latvia
The Court rejected the preliminary objections concerning victim status and jurisdiction, finding that the Government had lodged each inadmissibility complaint out of time according to the Rules of the Court. These objections were also dismissed on substantive grounds, with the Court holding that the Applicant’s situation remained unchanged despite the passing of the 2008 Latvia–Russia agreement, and consequently that her status as a victim under…
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Anonymous vs Federal Government of Germany (BVerwG 5 C 12.10)
Date of decision: 11 November 2010
Region/country: Europe / Germany
The Appellant’s application for judicial review was dismissed. Legality of the Decision to Withdraw Citizenship The Court held that the Appellee’s decision to withdraw the Appellant’s citizenship on 4 July 2000 had sufficient legal basis. Even though the withdrawal provision applicable to cases of naturalisation by deception did not exist at the time the decision was made (section 35, German Nationality Act (‘StAG’), the public…
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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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Audiencia Provincial de Guipúzcoa
Date of decision: 11 May 2022
Region/country: Europe / Spain
On the Statelessness of the Child The Court of Appeal upheld the First Instance Court's conclusion that the child was stateless, a finding supported by an interpretation provided by a lead expert of the UNHCR, which was produced as evidence. The Government of Spain did not challenge this conclusion on appeal. Applying the definition under Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention, the Court found that…
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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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This initiative has been made possible with the support of UNHCR, the European Network on Statelessness, and Mallesons.