ECtHR - Kurić and others v Slovenia

Court name: European Court of Human Rights
State: Slovenia
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Other international law
Key aspects: Discrimination, Residence permit, Respect for private and family life, State succession

Eight applicants, some of whom were stateless and others were nationals of former Yugoslavia, failed to request Slovenian citizenship within the six months’ deadline provided for permanent residents to apply for citizenship following Slovenia’s independence. Two months after the deadline, their names were erased from the Register of Permanent Residents, resulting in them becoming stateless together with approximately 25,671 other people in Slovenia, who became known as “the erased”. The Court held that the domestic legal system had failed to clearly regulate the consequences of the “erasure”, resulting in a violation of Article 8(2), 13, and 14 ECHR.

ECtHR - Genovese v. Malta

Court name: European Court of Human Rights
State: Malta
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
Key aspects: Acquisition of nationality, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Discrimination, Gender, Respect for private and family life

Maltese authorities denied Maltese nationality to a child on the basis that they were born out of wedlock to a Maltese father and a British mother. Domestic legislation only conferred nationality to children born out of wedlock if the mother was Maltese. The Court rejected the argument advanced by the Maltese Government that this case was justified on the basis that a mother is always certain, whereas a father is not. It concluded that no reasonable grounds were adduced to justify such a difference in the treatment of the applicant and found a violation of Article 14 in conjunction with Article 8 ECHR.

Luxembourg - Administrative Court, judgment no. 29401C

Court name: Administrative Court of Luxembourg
State: Luxembourg
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1997 European Convention on Nationality, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
Key aspects: Acquisition of nationality, Discrimination, Respect for private and family life

The applicant's naturalisation request was denied due to a criminal record, even though he has resided in Luxembourg for decades and is a stateless person. The Court rules that the principle of avoidance of statelessness does not prevent States from setting conditions on access to naturalisation even for stateless persons. 

Austria - Constitutional Court case of 11 October 2012

Court name: Constitutional Court of Austria (Verfassungsgerichtshof)
State: Austria
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
Key aspects: Acquisition of nationality, Birth registration, Burden of proof, Childhood statelessness, Determination/confirmation of nationality, LGBTIQ families, Respect for private and family life, Standard of proof, Surrogacy & reproductive technology

The applicants are children born presumably in a surrogacy arrangement in Ukraine to two Austrian nationals. Even though the custody of the commissioning parents over the applicants was confirmed under the Austrian law, their parentage and consequently the Austrian nationality of the applicants was initially denied. The Court considered that the best interests of the child prevail in such a case over the prohibition of surrogacy under Austrian law, and confirmed the applicants' right to Austrian nationality. 

France - Versailles Administrative Court of Appeal, case no. 10VE04202

Court name: Versailles Administrative Court of Appeal
State: France
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1954 Statelessness Convention, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
Key aspects: Burden of proof, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Residence permit, Respect for private and family life, Standard of proof, State succession, Stateless status and documentation, Statelessness determination

The applicant was born in the USSR, on the territory of contemporary Ukraine. He was denied stateless status in France on the basis that he did not make any efforts to get recognised as a national by either Ukraine or Russia. The Court upheld OFPRA's decision, ruling moreover that since the statelessness determination procedure is not aimed at granting residence rights, the applicant cannot rely on potential violations of articles 3 and 8 ECHR in case he is forced to return to Ukraine.