Court name: Municipal Court in Prague
Date of decision:

The court found that, despite the Ministry of Interior’s refusal to issue identity documents to persons applying to be recognised stateless, applicants have the right to be issued with an ID. The court referred to UNHCR Guidelines and to its previous ruling, according to which the analogy with the asylum procedure should be preserved regardless of whether statelessness determination is regulated under the Asylum Act or the Immigration Act (following a legislative amendment in 2021).

Court name: Supreme Administrative Court
Date of decision:

In a dispute concerning court jurisdiction, the Supreme Administrative Court recognised the special circumstances of the claimant in an application for the determination of statelessness, and ruled that the court which would have been competent in an asylum procedure should continue the proceedings.

Court name: Municipal Court Prague
Date of decision:

Access to Public Health Care should be granted to applicants while the statelessness procedure is pending, by analogy with the situation of asylum seekers.

Court name: District Court of Prague 7
Date of decision:

The Court ordered the Ministry of Interior to pay damages to an applicant to the statelessness determination procedure for experiencing delays in the procedure and excessively detaining him while awaiting a statelessness determination decision. 

 

Court name: Municipal Court Prague
Date of decision:

The court stated that “not admitting applicants for statelessness status to an asylum seekers' accommodation centre is an unlawful action” and the applicants should be admitted to an accommodation centre until a decision is made on their applications for recognition as a stateless person. The case was argued based on an analogy with the asylum procedure, as the reference to stateless persons is currently in the Czech Asylum Act. 

Court name: Prague District Court
Date of decision:

Procedural aspects of statelessness determination should be the same as in the asylum application procedure, as the SPD procedure is not specified in national law. This means that the deadline for issuing a decision on statelessness is 6 months with the possibility of extension.

Court name: Supreme Administrative Court
Date of decision:

Stateless people should be granted a legal status and identity card during the statelessness determination procedure. The State's failure to grant a right to stay on the territory while waiting for a decision is in violation of the applicant's right to respect for private and family life.