France - Nancy Administrative Court of Appeal, case no. 18NC00383

Court name: Nancy Administrative Court of Appeal
State: France
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1954 Statelessness Convention
Key aspects: Burden of proof, Exclusion grounds, Residence permit, Respect for private and family life, Standard of proof, Statelessness and asylum, Statelessness determination

The applicant was born in Syria, where he was involved in violence in the context of an armed conflict. During his life in France he was convicted if multiple crimes and served prison sentences. His application for the statelessness status was rejected for two reasons - firstly, he did not show sufficient efforts to obtain or confirm his Syrian nationality, and secondly he fell under the exclusion clauses of the 1954 Convention - the latter having been the reason for rejecting his asylum claim too. The Court upheld the administrative decision on both grounds.