CJEU - JY v Wiener Landesregierung, Case C-118/20

Court name: Court of Justice of the European Union
State: Austria
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1961 Statelessness Convention, 1997 European Convention on Nationality, European Union law
Key aspects: Acquisition of nationality, Voluntary renunciation of nationality

This case concerns an Estonian national who renounced her nationality on the basis of an assurance that she would be granted Austrian nationality once proof of her renunciation was given. This assurance was revoked on the grounds that the applicant had committed road traffic offences, leaving the applicant stateless. In its judgment, the CJEU confirms that the situation at issue in the main proceedings falls within the ambit of EU law, and concluded that the authorities' decision to revoke an assurance to grant Austrian nationality was not compatible with the principle of proportionality.

CRC - A.M. (on behalf of M.K.A.H.) v. Switzerland (no 95/2019)

Court name: Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
State: Switzerland
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1954 Statelessness Convention, 1997 European Convention on Nationality, Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), European Union law
Key aspects: Access to social and economic rights, Childhood statelessness, Country of return, Discrimination, Procedural safeguards, Refugee status determination, Statelessness and asylum

The communication concerned M.K.A.H., a stateless child, and centred around whether Switzerland violated his rights under Articles 2 (2), 6, 7, 16, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29, 37 and 39 UNCRC when it decided to return him and his mother back to Bulgaria, pursuant to the agreement between Switzerland and Bulgaria relating to the readmission of migrants in irregular situations, where they had previously obtained subsidiary protection.

Some of the findings of the Committee included: (i) Switzerland had not respected the best interests of the child nor heard him at the time of the hearing of the asylum request; (ii) the child ran a real risk of being subject to inhuman and degrading treatment in case of a return to Bulgaria; (iii) Switzerland had not sought to take the necessary measures to verify what access to nationality the child could benefit from in Bulgaria. Article 7 UNCRC implicates that States must take the necessary positive actions to implement the right to acquire nationality.

CJEU – Rottmann, C-135/08

Court name: Court of Justice of the European Union
State: Germany
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1961 Statelessness Convention, 1997 European Convention on Nationality, European Union law, Other international law, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
Key aspects: Acquisition of nationality, Deprivation of nationality, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Stateless status and documentation, Statelessness determination, Voluntary renunciation of nationality

The Court held that it is not contrary to EU law for Member States to withdraw citizenship obtained by deception, even if the effect is to also withdraw citizenship of the Union, so long as the decision observes the principle of proportionality.

Netherlands - Council of State (Raad van State), ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:3045

Court name: Council of State of the Netherlands (Raad van State)
State: Netherlands
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1961 Statelessness Convention, 1997 European Convention on Nationality, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), European Union law
Key aspects: Deprivation of nationality, Discrimination, Procedural safeguards

The applicant is a dual Dutch/Moroccan national whose Dutch nationality was withdrawn on the basis of a criminal conviction for terrorist activities. The Court rejected the applicant's appeal, concluding, among others, that prevention of statelessness is a valid reason for differentiated treatment between those with a single and with multiple nationalities, and that withdrawal of nationality is not a punitive measure. Withdrawal of nationality in addition to the criminal sentence does not violate the principle that prohibits repeated punishments for the same action.  

Netherlands - Council of State (Raad van State), ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2020:5783

Court name: Council of State of the Netherlands (Raad van State)
State: Netherlands
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1961 Statelessness Convention, 1997 European Convention on Nationality, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), European Union law
Key aspects: Deprivation of nationality, Discrimination

The applicant is a dual Moroccan-Dutch nationality, whose Dutch nationality was withdrawn as a consequence of his involvement in a terrorist organisation. The applicant argued that the legal ground for withdrawing nationality only affects dual nationals, who are almost always Dutch nationals with a non-Western background, and thus constitutes discrimination prohibited by the ECHR. The Court ruled that prevention of statelessness is a sufficient and objective justification of this distinction, and the distinction is therefore justified. 

ECtHR - Ramadan v Malta

Court name: European Court of Human Rights
State: Malta
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1997 European Convention on Nationality, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), European Union law
Key aspects: Acquisition of nationality, Deprivation of nationality, Respect for private and family life, Statelessness determination

Egyptian national, who was granted the ability to revoke his Egyptian citizenship, was deprived of his Maltese citizenship years later after the State’s decision that he had obtained his Maltese citizenship from his first marriage through fraud. The Court found that there was no Article 8 violation, holding that the decision to deprive the applicant of his Maltese citizenship did not adversely affect him as a stateless individual, as the decision complied with the law and the applicant had opportunities to seek redress for any potential issues that would arise as a result of the State’s actions.