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.
5 cases found
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John K. Modise v Botswana
Date of decision: 06 November 2000
Region/country: Africa / Botswana
The Commission held that the Complainant acquired Botswana citizenship on 30 September 1966 by virtue of Section 20(2) of the Constitution of Botswana in force at the time. The Commission held that the denial of this right was in violation of Articles 3(2) and 5 of the Charter, which provides: ’Every individual shall be entitled to equal protection of the law’. Article 5 on the…
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Legal Resources Foundation v Zambia
Date of decision: 23 April 2001
Region/country: Africa / Zambia
The Commission considered the rules as potentially depriving the country of potential resources and leadership and also considered, from an individual point of view, being able to vote but not to stand for office. The Commission also considered that there were a number of Zambian citizens whose parents were not born in the Republic of Zambia. This was because before the breakup of the Central…
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Nubian Community of Kenya v Republic of Kenya
Date of decision: 28 February 2015
Region/country: Africa / Kenya
On Admissibility The African Commission found that, although local remedies were theoretically available in Kenya, they were not effective in practice for the Nubian community. Therefore, the claim was admissible. On the Rights to Equality and Non-Discrimination The African Commission found that the Kenyan Government’s treatment of the Nubian community in the acquisition of identity documents constituted a violation of the rights to equality and…
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Open Society Justice Initiative v Côte d’Ivoire
Date of decision: 28 February 2015
Region/country: Africa / Côte d’Ivoire
The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (‘the Commission’) found that Côte d’Ivoire’s nationality regime, characterised by vague definitions and excessive discretion granted to State authorities, resulted in the arbitrary denial of nationality and widespread statelessness (both practically and theoretically), particularly affecting the Dioula ethnic group and other northern populations. Although the African Charter does not explicitly guarantee a right to nationality, the Commission…
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Yasin Omar v. Attorney General
Date of decision: 29 September 2017
Region/country: Africa / Republic of Uganda
The Commission found that the officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs had breached Article 21 of the 1995 Constitution by rejecting the witnesses’ applications for passports and/or Nationality Identity Cards because of their race and/or characteristics associated with their skin colour. The Commission determined that this was direct discrimination and that evidence of discrimination against multi-racial individuals to be ‘overwhelming’ and ‘alarming’ (page 9).…
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This initiative has been made possible with the support of UNHCR, the European Network on Statelessness, and Mallesons.